RBL Bank Q2 Updates: Gross Advances Rise 15%

RBL Bank Ltd.'s gross advances rose 15% year-on-year to Rs 89,786 crore in the quarter-ended September, according to provisional figures released by the lender on Friday.

Total deposits rose 20% over a year ago to Rs 1.08 lakh crore, according to an exchange filing.

The CASA ratio—the proportion of deposits that come from low-cost current and savings accounts—rose to 33.5% from 32.6% in the year ago period. A higher CASA ratio indicates a lower cost of funds, since lenders do not usually give any interest on current account deposits and the interest on saving accounts is low.

The average liquidity coverage ratio for the quarter stood at 142% in comparison to 137% in the previous quarter.

Retail advances in the quarter grew 24% year-on-year, while wholesale advances rose 3% year-on-year as of Sept. 30., 2024. The bank in the regulatory filing said that it will focus on growing the share of granular retail deposits in the overall deposit mix. As of Sept. 30, the deposits below Rs 3 crore represent 48.3% of the overall deposits of the bank.

The private sector bank aims to grow its credit card book moderately by about 12-15% in the current financial year, Bikram Yadav, business head, credit cards at RBL Bank, told NDTV Profit.

"The industry is growing about 20-25% and we are planning to grow about 12-15%. We have never been expanding the credit card market," Bikram said at the launch of IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card in September.

The bank reported a net profit of Rs 201 crore in the first quarter compared with a net loss of Rs 459 crore a year ago as provisions fell.

Net interest income for the quarter stood at Rs 1,028 crore, up 6% year-on-year, according to its exchange filing. Other income, however, fell 6% from a year ago to Rs 614 crore.

Asset quality metrics for the lender showed an improvement as gross non-performing asset ratio stood at 4.08%, down 32 basis points on a quarter-on-quarter basis. Net NPA ratio as of June 30 stood at 1.12% compared with 1.34% as of March 31.

Shares of RBL Bank rose as much as 1.89% during the day to Rs 203 apiece on the NSE. However, it pared the gains to close 0.77% lower at Rs 197.69, compared to a 0.79% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50.

The stock has fallen by 20.70% in the last 12 months and by 30.54% year-to-date.

Out of 22 analysts tracking the company, 15 maintain a 'buy' rating, three recommend a 'hold,' and four suggest a 'sell,' according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 39%.