Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd (ESFBL) on Friday reported a 79% decline in its profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 12 crore for the first quarter of FY22, against Rs 58 crore in the year-ago period. The bank said the PAT was affected due to provisions made on restructured accounts.
PN Vasudevan, MD & CEO, said: “During the quarter due to lockdowns and other Covid- related restrictions, cash flows of small retailers had been significantly impacted. With the absence of a moratorium during the second wave, the bank offered to restructure loans of impacted customers in order to help them manage their cash flows better.”
Net interest income was at Rs 461 crore, against Rs 404 crore, and the net interest margin (NIM ) stood at 7.87%. Total advances restructured under Covid 1 and Covid 2 stood at Rs 1,328 crore, which forms around 7.5% of gross advances. The bank’s gross NPA was higher at 4.58% in Q1FY22, compared with 3.59% in Q4FY21 and 2.68% in Q1FY21. The net NPA stood at 2.29% in Q1FY22 as compared to 1.52% in Q4FY21 and 1.39% in Q1FY21. The provision coverage ratio was 51.21%.
Vasudevan said, “InJuly, we are seeing a strong uptick in collections and disbursements as the country gets back to near normalcy…”
