Date:01/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/01/stories/2008110160641900.htm

Business

PNB cuts PLR by 50 basis points

Special Correspondent

Profit rises 31 % to Rs. 707 crore in Q2

NEW DELHI: Punjab National Bank on Friday announced a 50 basis point reduction in Prime Lending Rate (PLR) to 13.5 per cent.

“We have decided to reduce the Prime Lending Rate by 50 basis points effective Saturday,” PNB Chairman and Managing Director, K. C. Chakrabarty, told newsmen here at a press conference. The revised rate would be applicable to the existing and new borrowers, he said. The bank has also decided to reduce the peak rate of deposits from 10.5 per cent to 10 per cent, he said, adding that the new rates would be applicable beginning December.

The bank said its net profit grew by 31 per cent to Rs. 707 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2008, against Rs. 538.48 crore in the comparable quarter in the previous fiscal.

Total income rose to Rs. 5,313.18 crore from Rs. 3,930.89 crore.

For the six-months ended September 30, 2008, it reported a net profit of Rs. 1,219.50 crore against Rs. 963.55 crore. Total income rose by 28 per cent to Rs. 9,907.80 crore from Rs. 7,726.01 crore in the year-ago period.