Bandhan Bank Q1 Net Profit Down; Microfinance Stress

Kolkata, Jul 18 (PTI) Private sector lender Bandhan Bank on Friday said that the stress on the emerging entrepreneurs business (EEB), broadly the microfinance portfolio, has pulled down the net profit in the first quarter of 2025-26.

In the first quarter of 2025-26, the bank had posted a net profit of Rs 372 crore. In the previous similar period, the post-tax profit of the lender stood at Rs 1,063 crore.

MD&CEO of Bandhan Bank Partha Pratim Sengupta told reporters here that the two quarters are not strictly comparable.

"The profitability of the bank in the first quarter of the current financial year was down due to headwinds in the EEB microfinance business. The EEB portfolio had a bearing on the profitability. We remain cautiously optimistic in the second and subsequent quarters", he said.

The bank's total business at the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal stood at Rs 2.88 lakh crore.

Sengupta said that the bank has sequentially improved profitability and has been able to increase the proportion of secured loans in overall advances.

"The asset base has become more diversified. The bank has a strong capital adequacy ratio to support future growth", he said.

During the quarter, the bank has made a technical write-off amounting to Rs 1,047 crore, Sengupta said.

He said that the bank is focusing on retail growth and product innovation.

The bank remained focused on prudent risk management and operational efficiency, Sengupta said. PTI dc