Fairfax-backed CSB Bank reports 16% YoY rise in net profit to Rs 160 crore

Synopsis

Fairfax-backed CSB Bank reported a 16% YoY rise in Q2 profit to ₹160 crore, driven by higher interest income and 16% NII growth to ₹424 crore. The bank plans to expand its retail, SME, and NRI businesses, including a new Dubai office, while maintaining a conservative gold loan strategy.

Fairfax-backed private sector lender CSB Bank reported a 16% year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 160 crore for the September quarter, driven by strong growth in interest income. The bank had posted a profit of Rs 138 crore in the same period last year.

Net interest income (NII) grew 16% year-on-year to Rs 424 crore, compared with Rs 367 crore a year earlier, while the net interest margin (NIM) stood at 3.81%. The gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio was 1.81% at the end of the quarter, up slightly from 1.68% in the same period last year.

“If you look at the last two or three years, we have been growing anywhere between 25 to 30 percent,” said Pralay Mondal, MD & CEO, CSB Bank. “We are now going to build out our retail liability franchise and retail asset franchise. We will start launching new retail asset products and services next year onwards.”

Mondal added that the bank has strengthened its management across both retail and wholesale segments and will now focus on scaling up its franchise.

“We are building new products on the back of transaction banking. We are launching trade finance, CMS, and supply chain solutions, in line with what larger banks are doing. This will enable us to serve larger clients on the wholesale side,” Mondal said.

He added that on the SME side, the bank has applied to open an office in Dubai, and it is working with the regulators there. Mondal hopes that, within the next one year, CSB Bank Dubai office will be operational for its NRI business.

“Currently, we are unable to fully service our customers there, which has limited our NRI base,” he added.”

On the gold loan business, which accounts for nearly 50% of CSB Bank’s total loan book, Mondal said that while the overall market has grown by over 100%, the bank’s growth has been measured at 35%.

“The reason is that we are cautious — we have kept our LTV very conservative and have consistently sustained this kind of growth irrespective of price,” Mondal said. “We don't cater to the segment where prices go up and people take top-ups.”

When asked about reports of a potential deal between promoter Fairfax and IDBI Bank, Mondal declined to comment on specifics.

“We are building CSB Bank — it’s the promoter’s call,” he said. “We all know what the current status is, because it’s quite transparent who all are bidding and where things stand. So, depending on that, we have to wait and watch.”

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