Central Bank of India (CBI) reported a strong performance for the second quarter

Central Bank of India (CBI) reported a strong performance for the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2025-26 (Q2 FY26), achieving a 32.8% year-on-year (YoY) increase in net profit to ₹1,212.8 crore, up from ₹912.8 crore in Q2 FY25. This significant profit growth was primarily driven by enhanced asset quality and reduced provisioning. Despite the positive bottom-line growth, the bank faced margin pressure, evidenced by a 3.7% YoY decline in Net Interest Income (NII) to ₹3,282 crore, down from ₹3,410 crore in the year-ago period. Consequently, the Net Interest Margin (NIM) moderated to 2.89% from 3.41% a year earlier. Asset quality showed consistent improvement: the Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) ratio improved to 3.01% (from 3.13% sequentially), and the Net NPA ratio slightly decreased to 0.48% (from 0.49%). The Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) remains robust at 96.88%. Total business expanded by 14.4% YoY to ₹7.38 lakh crore. This growth was fueled by advances rising 16% to ₹2.93 lakh crore and deposits increasing 13.4% to ₹4.44 lakh crore. The Current and Savings Account (CASA) ratio stood at 46.83%. Profitability metrics saw notable improvement: Return on Assets (ROA) rose to 1.01%, and Return on Equity (ROE) increased to 14.22% (up from 12.67% last year). The bank maintains strong capital adequacy with a Capital to Risk-weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of 17.34% and a CET-I ratio of 14.98% as of September 2025.