RBL Bank's consolidated net profit for the July–September quarter reached Rs 498.36 crore, more than doubling year-on-year on the back of the Reserve Bank of India's FCNR(B) deposit scheme. Deposits worth USD 3.4 billion gathered from the diaspora under that arrangement helped the Emirates NBD subsidiary post a wider interest margin — an outcome tied to the repayment of bulk deposits through FCNR(B) funds — while the leverage provision built into the scheme allowed the bank to extend loans totalling Rs 10,300 crore to participating depositors. Advance growth of 42 per cent was attributed to the special scheme, R Subramaniakumar, the bank's managing director and chief executive, noted, adding that when that programme's contribution was stripped out, the underlying lending expansion stood at 30 per cent. Net interest income at the core level reached Rs 2,131 crore for the quarter under review, a 37 per cent rise year-on-year, as loan book expansion combined with a net interest margin that widened to 4.61 per cent — up from 4.51 per cent twelve months earlier and 4.13 per cent in the preceding quarter — pushed returns higher. Revenue from non-core sources climbed 16 per cent, reaching Rs 1,077 crore across the July-to-September quarter. Aggregate revenues for the quarter climbed to Rs 5,401.65 crore, up from the Rs 4,441.59 crore posted during the corresponding period a year earlier. Broken down by loan category, the secured retail portfolio expanded by 52 per cent, buoyed by the Rs 10,300 crore inflow, while corporate advances registered a 60 per cent increase over the same period. Pinning down a precise timeline for when the FCNR(B) deposit funds would be fully deployed proved difficult, Subramaniakumar noted, though he indicated the process was likely to stretch beyond two years. Three priorities are shaping the bank's road ahead: deepening its footprint along the India–Middle East trade corridor, growing both the volume and deal sizes within corporate lending, and rolling out a wealth management arm. The bank's executive noted no measurable strain on its asset portfolio from the ongoing West Asia conflict, while flagging that a below-average monsoon season warrants close monitoring for any knock-on effects across its retail lending segment. Measured against the prior year, the gross non-performing assets ratio shed 1.31 percentage points, settling at 1.02 per cent. Gross slippages at the bank eased to Rs 894 crore during the second quarter, down from Rs 940 crore in the preceding three months, with credit cards and personal loans continuing to account for the largest share of stressed assets. Total provisions climbed 53 per cent to Rs 766.5 crore, a rise that a bank official tied to two factors: FCNR(B)-linked lending exposure and the broader expansion of the loan book, with the official adding that the impact from leveraged loan provisioning represents a one-time charge. As of 30 September, the bank's total capital adequacy ratio had been recorded at 30.1 per cent. Trading on Monday left RBL Bank's stock 0.63 per cent higher at Rs 420 per share on the BSE, even as the broader benchmark index slipped by 0.76 per cent over the same session.
