Mumbai: Backed by a healthy growth in core
fee-income, Bank of Baroda overcame challenging market
conditions to post a 17.5 per cent jump in net profit in the
third quarter, overshadowing the muted earnings posted by many
of its peers.
The bank's third-quarter net profit grew to Rs 832.49-
crore against Rs 708.3 crore in the year-ago period as core
fee-based income, which comprises commissions, bank guarantees
and various charges, rose to Rs 356 crore in the third quarter
compared to Rs 280 crore a year-back.
The good growth was despite a visible decline in its bond
investments and lower treasury gains in the reporting quarter.
Treasury income slipped to Rs 1,107.9 crore in the quarter
from Rs 1,273.7 crore in the year-ago period.
BoB also bettered other banking biggies like SBI and
ICICI Bank in loan growth during the period. Its advances grew
an impressive 19 per cent in the quarter. Retail loans grew
by 18.6 per cent, SME advances by 47 per cent and farm-loans
by 20 per cent.
Because of challenging market conditions many lenders,
including State Bank and ICICI Bank, India's two largest
banks, had posted weak earnings in the third-quarter. While
SBI posted a nearly flat net profit, ICICI Bank saw a 13 per
cent dip in at Rs 1,101 crore.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 28, 2010, 00:02