Axis net falls 36% on provisioning

NEW DELHI: Lending major Axis Bank's net profit for the third quarter of 2020-21 fell 36 per cent due to higher provisioning.

Accordingly, the bank's net profit fell to Rs 1,116.6 crore from Rs 1,757 crore reported during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

The bank said profit after tax for the quarter was adversely impacted to the extent of Rs 1,050 crore on account of prudent expenses and provisioning charges.

However, the banking major's net interest income grew by 14 per cent to Rs 7,373 crore from Rs 6,453 crore reported during the like period of the previous fiscal.

"Net interest margin (NIM) for Q3FY21 was 3.59 per cent as against 3.57 per cent for Q3FY20," the bank said in a statement.

As per the statement, specific loan loss provisions for Q3FY21 were Rs 1,053 crore, compared to Rs 2,962 crore in Q3 last year.

"The bank has made provisions on "90+ DPD" accounts not classified as NPA pursuant to the Supreme Court judgment, at rates that would have applied to these accounts per extant provisioning rules for NPA in the banks, amounting to Rs 3,899 crore during the quarter."

"The bank holds cumulative provisions of Rs 11,856 crore at the end of Q3FY21.