Central Bank of India Q3 profit rises 32% to `1,263 crore as bad loans dip

New Delhi: State-owned Central Bank of India reported a 32 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 1,263 crore for Q3 FY26, supported by an improvement in asset quality. The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 959 crore in same period last year.

Total income during the quarter increased to Rs 10,969 crore from Rs 9,739 crore a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing. Interest income rose to Rs 9,033 crore from Rs 8,509 crore. However, net interest income (NII) slipped marginally to Rs 3,502 crore from Rs 3,540 crore, while the net interest margin (NIM) eased to 2.96 per cent from 3.45 per cent a year ago.

Operating profit improved to Rs 2,293 crore in the December 2025 quarter, compared with Rs 1,963 crore in the same period last year.

Asset quality showed further improvement, with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) declining to 2.7 per cent of total advances from 3.86 per cent a year ago. Net NPAs also reduced to 0.45 per cent from 0.59 per cent. Consequently, provisions for bad loans fell to Rs 276 crore from Rs 310 crore.

The capital adequacy ratio moderated slightly to 16.13 per cent from 16.43 per cent, while the provision coverage ratio improved to 96.69 per cent from 96.54 per cent.

Total business rose to Rs 7,74,106 crore from Rs 6,68,686 crore a year earlier. Gross advances grew 19.48 per cent to Rs 3,23,531 crore, and deposits increased 13.24 per cent to Rs 4,50,575 crore.

For the nine-month period, the bank reported a net profit of Rs 3,644 crore, up from Rs 2,752 crore last year, with total income rising to Rs 31,593 crore from Rs 29,088 crore.