OBC reports Q4 net loss of `1,218 crore

Public sector lender Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) has reported a net loss of Rs 1,218.01 crore for last quarter ended March 2017 on a huge jump in provisioning for bad assets.

The bank had made a net profit of Rs 21.62 crore during the similar quarter of preceding fiscal ended March 2016.

Total income of the bank during January-March quarter of 2016-17 came down to Rs 5,093.84 crore as against Rs 5,488.27 crore, as per bank's balance sheet.

There was a net loss on bank's balance sheet for the entire fiscal at Rs 1,094.07 crore. It had registered a net profit of Rs 156.08 crore in the preceding fiscal 2015-16.

Total income in the entire 2016-17 fiscal stood at Rs 21,187.85 crore, lower from Rs 21,934.78 crore a year ago.

Asset quality on the bank worsened with net non performing assets (NPAs) rising to 8.96 per cent of the net advances as on March 31, 2017 against 6.70 per cent a year ago.

Gross NPAs or bad loans were 13.73 per cent as a percentage of gross advances at the end of March, up from 9.57 per cent a year ago.

Bank's provisioning for bad loans almost trebled at Rs 3,050.60 crore for the last quarter, from Rs 1,086.51 crore a year ago. Of the other key matrices, non-interest income of the bank increased by 56.6 per cent on the year to Rs 2,765.52 crore compared with Rs 1,766.28 crore.

The net interest margin, the difference between interest earned and interest paid, for the year was at 2.42 per cent. Stock of the bank was trading 7.33 per cent lower at Rs 162.50 apiece on BSE on Friday.