Public banks hit profit peak, cross `90,000 cr in H1
SBI drives 40% of record earnings; IOB tops growth chart at 58%, lifting PSBs’ collective performance to new highs
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New Delhi: State Bank of India-led public-sector banks (PSBs) posted a record cumulative profit of Rs49,456 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal, reflecting a 9 per cent year-on-year growth despite two lenders reporting a decline. All 12 PSBs together made a profit of Rs45,547 crore in the September quarter of FY25. Thus, the increase in profit in absolute terms was Rs3,909 crore as compared to the same quarter of the previous financial year.
For the first half ended September 2025, the aggregate profit of PSBs crossed Rs90,000 crore for the first time. Together, the PSBs have earned Rs93,674 crore as compared to Rs85,520 crore in the April-September period of FY25, registering nearly 10 per cent growth.
Market leader SBI alone contributed 40 per cent to the total earnings of Rs49,456 crore, as per the published numbers on stock exchanges. SBI logged a net profit of Rs20,160 crore in Q2 FY26, 10 per cent higher than the same period of the previous fiscal. In percentage terms, Chennai-based Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) reported the highest netprofit growth of 58 per cent to Rs1,226 crore, followed by Central Bank of India with a 33 per cent rise to Rs1,213 crore. During the quarter, all 12 PSBs except Bank of Baroda (BoB) and Union Bank of India reported an 8 per cent and 10 per cent decline, respectively, in profit. Bank of Baroda reported an 8 per cent fall in net profit at Rs4,809 crore as against Rs5,238 crore in the year-ago period. Another Mumbai-based lender, Union Bank of India, witnessed a 10 per cent decline in bottomline at Rs4,249 crore during the quarter. During the quarter, Bank of Maharashtra and Punjab & Sind Bank reported a 23 per cent rise in profit, while Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Indian Bank posted 19 per cent, 14 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively. Those which recorded single-digit growth in profit are Bank of India at 8 per cent, while UCO Bank at 3 per cent.
It is to be noted that the PSBs recorded a slightly higher profit of 11 per cent on an annual basis to Rs44,218 crore in the first quarter as compared to Rs39,974 crore in the June quarter of FY25.
