Bank of Maharashtra on Monday reported a 34.89% year-on-year increase in its net profit to Rs 2,014.09 crore for the March quarter. The bank’s operating profit was up 16.92% to Rs 2,946 crore. The bank said it was able to maintain superior asset quality, attract low-cost deposits and reduce stress, leading to higher profitability.
Managing Director and CEO Nidhu Saxena, in his guidance for the bank in FY27, said the credit growth will be at 18%, deposit growth of 14-15%, Retail-Agri-MSME (RAM) loan growth at 18%, with 60% of the advances in the RAM segment and 40% would be corporate loan book. Saxena said the bank will maintain CASA deposits at 50% levels in FY27. The bank has guided for NIM at 3.75%.
Dealing with fallout from geopoilitical mistress
To deal with the fallout from geopolitical risks on their customers and loan book, Saxena said they had become the first bank to voluntarily make a provision of Rs 200 crore for any such situation. This is similar to the provision banks created during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There is no regulatory requirement to do so, but were being prudent and using the good times to create a cushion for any uncertainties and mitigate risks, Saxena said. They had elbow room to build on this, if required and were watching the geopolitical situation closely, Saxena added.
There was no impact seen in the FY26 March quarter, but it could be seen in the first or second quarter of FY27, though it will be very significant, he said. The growth in the March 2026 quarter was driven by a 18.81% rise in net interest income to Rs 3,702 crore.
The net interest margin was 3.91% for the quarter, a dip from 4.01% reported in Q4FY25. However, sequentially, it had improved from 3.86% in Q3FY26.
The NIM performance was better than 3.75% guided for FY26. BoM reported a Rs 20,000 crore addition to CASA deposits, which grew by 12% during the quarter. The CASA deposit share was 52.51% compared to the 50% CASA guidance.
Saxena said the bank has yet again delivered an industry-leading performance on 18 key parameters, with topline growth and higher profitability. An improvement in asset quality, lower credit costs and strong growth in the Retail, Agriculture and MSME segments aided the bank’s performance.
“We are trying to move away from high-cost bulk deposits to CASA,” Saxena said. Like other banks, they were concerned with deposit growth lagging behind advances and the growing competition for advances, Saxena said.
They were putting in place strategies to deal with the situation. BoM had set up a dedicated team to engage with new customers, generate leads and build relationships to bring in new accounts from government, ministries, and corporates. This responsibility was not left to the branch or regional offices.
The bank will focus on select states that have significant growth opportunities. The bank was looking to add 321 branches in 18 months and had already reached 183 branches. These new branches contributed significantly to CASA deposits. This was at a time when other banks were reporting a decline in CASA deposits from 44% to 36-37%.
BoM reported a 50% growth in home loans, 56% growth in vehicle loans, and 53% increase in gold loans. MSME and agri loans grew in double digits. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) decreased to 1.45%, down 29 bps, while net NPAs dropped to 0.13 %, a decline of 5 bps on year.
BoM’s advances grew 21.74% y-o-y to Rs 2,91,967 crore, while total deposits increased 14.14% to Rs 3,50,564 crore in the March quarter. Total business grew by 17.47% to Rs 6,42,531lakh crore. The cost of deposits was 4.33%, compared to 4.74% in the previous year’s last quarter.
Cost of funds was 3.95% (4.30% PYQ4FY25). The cost-to-income ratio came down to 36.81 from 38.50 in the same quarter PY. The board has approved a final dividend of Rs 1.20 per equity share at 12% for 2025-26.
On fundraising, Saxena said the bank has received board approval to raise Rs 7,500 crore (Rs 5,000 crore equity and Rs 2,500 crore via debt), Rs 10,000 crore through long-term infrastructure bonds, and $500 million in foreign-currency bonds through its GIFT business unit in FY 27.
The bank will also use the GIFT platform to fund credit growth and expand the GIFT lending book. It has been discussed with 25 banks and institutions in Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan.
The bank commenced lending operations at its GIFT City International Business Unit in Q2FY26 and reached a loan book of $ 650 million (around Rs 6,125 crore) in Q4FY26. The bank has set a goal of growing its overseas business portfolio to $1 billion in the first year. BoM is also considering having a physical presence as part of its plans to go global, Saxena said.
The government’s holding in the banks has fallen to 73.60%.