What are the highlights of your fourth quarter results?

We delivered robust growth across core parameters, despite taking a one-time deferred tax adjustment hit of ₹632 crore. The deferred tax asset was recognised at a lower rate of 25 per cent (against about 35 per cent), which impacted the current quarter’s numbers (net profit at ₹724 crore vs ₹1,034 crore in the year-ago quarter). But we expect annual tax benefit of ₹600-800 crore going forward, after migrating to the new tax regime.

We reported 15.6 per cent growth in total business, with gross advances rising 18.76 per cent and total deposits growing 13.38 per cent. For the first time, Central Bank of India crossed the ₹8-lakh-crore business milestone. We have set a target for crossing ₹10 lakh crore business by March 2028.

How do you want to position CBoI in the banking space?

Our goal is not merely to become larger, but also evolve into a digitally agile and customer-centric bank.

We are a bank with a 114-year legacy. We have nationwide reach through 4,585 branches across 28 states and seven out of eight Union territories. Our strong rural and semi-urban (RUSU) footprint, accounting for about 65 per cent of total branches, gives us an opportunity to participate in the economic development of almost all states

Rather than focusing on league-table rankings among banks, our strategy is centred on strengthening fundamentals, improving efficiency, enhancing customer experience and delivering sustainable profitability and dividends.

How will you achieve the credit growth target of 14-16 per cent in FY27, given that the economy could face repercussions from the West Asia war and deposit growth is constrained for banks?

‘Retail, agriculture and MSME’ (RAM) lending is our principal growth engine, constituting about 68 per cent of our loan book. We intend maintaining the RAM-corporate mix broadly at the current level of 68:32.

Within retail, our focus will be on housing and vehicle loans. Within agriculture, gold loans and self-help group financing will be thrust areas. Within the MSME space, cluster-based financing, warehousing and cold storage, among others, will be priority areas.

We have identified 300 agriculture-intensive branches and 225 MSME-focused branches under the cluster-based financing strategy.

Corporate lending will continue selectively, with exposure to sectors such as data centres, renewable energy, HAM (hybrid annuity model) road projects, lease rental discounting (LRD), and EV financing, among others.

Do you have sufficient liquidity to support credit growth?

We have ample liquidity, as signified by the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) of 210.35 per cent against the minimum requirement of 100 per cent. With almost two-third of our branch network in RUSU areas, we can comfortably tap liabilities. We plan to open around 100 branches in the current financial year, with a focus on emerging business centres and growth markets. Physical presence still matters a lot in liability mobilisation, despite rapid digitalisation.

Non-interest income seems to be a challenge for your bank. How are you addressing this?

This is a weak area and we are focusing on improving on this front. Currently, non-interest income contributes around 15 per cent of total income. We want to increase this to at least 25 per cent by March 2027. To achieve this, we are focusing on areas such as bancassurance distribution, forex and trade finance services, letter of credit/bank guarantee business, cash management services, supply chain financing, and treasury operations.

We expect insurance distribution income to improve significantly as we have put operational structures in place for our life and non-life insurance ventures.

How much additional credit offtake are you expecting for your bank due to the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS)?

We anticipate an additional credit offtake of about ₹10,000 crore due to ECLGS 5.0. This growth will primarily be in the MSME sector, where we see about ₹7,000 crore offtake. In the non-MSME sector, we may see about ₹3,000 crore credit offtake.

How much provisioning do you need to make related to expected credit loss (ECL), and do you need to raise funds to meet this requirement?

While the final provision numbers related to ECL are being worked out post the declaration of our financial results, based on the earlier estimates we had made a proactive provision of ₹1,525 crore for stage 1&2 assets and made the provisions required for stage 3 assets.

As the bank is sufficiently capitalised with its CRAR (capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio) at 17.91 per cent as on March 31, 2026, and the regulator has permitted to route the ECL impact through reserves instead of profit-and-loss account, a maximum impact of 150 basis points is expected on the CRAR.

However, the expected profit of FY27, of about ₹6,000 crore, and the profit for FY28 would ensure that our CRAR remains in the range of 16–17 per cent (substantially above the required regulatory capital of 11.5 per cent) and we have ample growth capital available. As such, we may not be required to go to the market to raise capital in the near future.