Q2: PSU banks record 9% growth in profit

New Delhi: State Bank of India-led public sector banks posted a record cumulative profit of Rs 49,456 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 public sector banks (PSBs) together made a profit of Rs 45,547 crore in the September quarter of FY25. Thus, the increase in profit in absolute terms was Rs 3,909 crore as compared to the same quarter of the previous financial year.

Market leader SBI alone contributed 40 per cent to the total earnings of Rs 49,456 crore, as per the published numbers on stock exchanges.

SBI logged a net profit of Rs 20,160 crore in Q2 FY26, 10 per cent higher than the same period of the previous fiscal.

In percentage terms, Chennai-based Indian Overseas Bank reported the highest net profit growth of 58 per cent to Rs 1,226 crore, followed by Central Bank of India with a 33 per cent rise to Rs 1,213 crore.

During the quarter, all 12 public sector banks (PSBs) except Bank of Baroda 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 Rs 4,809 crore as against Rs 5,238 crore in the year-ago period. Another Mumbai-based lender, Union Bank of India, witnessed a 10 per cent decline in bottomline at Rs 4,249 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 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 Rs 44,218 crore in the first quarter as compared to Rs 39,974 crore in the June quarter of FY25.

For the first half ended September 2025, the aggregate profit of PSBs crossed Rs 90,000 crore for the first time. Together, the PSBs have earned Rs 93,674 crore as compared

to Rs 85,520 crore in the

April-September period of FY25, registering nearly 10 per cent growth.