Shares of Punjab National Bank (PNB) slipped 8 per cent to Rs 37.25 on the BSE on Wednesday, falling 10 per cent in the past two trading days after the bank announced the opening of qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue on Tuesday. However, the share price of the state-owned lender has fallen below the QIP floor price of Rs 37.35 per share.

In the past month, the stock has run up strongly, rallying nearly 40 per cent till Monday. At 09:44 am, the stock was trading 6 per cent lower at Rs 38.15, as compared to 0.71 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. The counter has seen huge trading volumes, with a combined 87 million equity shares were changing hands on the NSE and BSE.

The Punjab National Bank (PNB) has become the second-largest nationalized bank of the country - both in terms of business and branch network - after its amalgamation with United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce which came into effect on April 1.

The State Bank of India (SBI) still remains the largest state-run bank in the country.

Shares of Punjab National Bank rose up to 2.7 per cent to Rs 58.9 on the BSE on Tuesday ahead of its December quarter (Q3FY20) results due later today. Besides, the bank’s Board yesterday approved raising funds through issuance of bonds.

Board of the Bank in its meeting held on February 3, 2020 has granted permission for raising funds through issuance of Basel-III compliant Tier-II Bonds amounting up to Rs 1,000 crore in one or more tranches, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

Banking counters, including Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India, and Canara Bank slipped over 4 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in the early deals on Monday as heightened tensions between the United States and Iran pushed bond yields higher in India.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday vowed major retaliation if Iran tried to avenge the death of its key military commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by the US military on Friday.

Public sector banks (PSBs) were in focus on Friday, with Nifty PSU Bank index gaining more than 3 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), on expectation that the banks would benefit from lower yields on government bonds.

At 10:45 am, Nifty PSU Bank index was trading as the top gainer among key sectoral indices, and was up 3.2 per cent, as compared to a 0.64 per cent rise in the benchmark Nifty50 index.

Lenders to Sintex Industries Ltd. rejected a debt restructuring plan by the company and intend to push it into bankruptcy, people familiar with the matter said.

According to the resolution proposal, the textile company will be able to service only 30% of its Rs 63 billion ($888 million) of bank loans, the people said, asking not to be named, as the information isn’t public.

NEFT Timings: Customers of SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, ICICI Bank or any other commercial lender can do National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) transactions 24×7 from today. The facility will now be available on any day of the week or month, including holidays. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed this facility to be available at all times throughout the year.

For smooth settlement of NEFT transactions, the RBI has decided to provide additional collateralised intra-day liquidity facility.

State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday said it will divest 8.25 per cent in the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of UTI Asset Management Company (AMC). The lender currently holds 18.25 per cent stake in the mutual fund (MF) house. Three other public sector undertakings (PSU) Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, Bank of Baroda (BoB), and Punjab National Bank (PNB) also hold 18.25 per cent each, while US-based T Rowe Price owns 26 per cent.

Sources say LIC, BoB, and PNB too are expected to divest 8.25 per cent each in the UTI AMC IPO.

Though Punjab National Bank (PNB) posted a rise in profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 633 crore in the September quarter (Q2), its finances showed signs of stress, when it is going to acquire two public sector banks from the next financial year.

In terms of profitability, PNB was in a better position than the same quarter in the last fiscal. Its net profit stood at Rs 507 crore in Q2, compared to a net loss of Rs 4,532 crore in the same quarter last fiscal year. In Q1, the bank’s net profit stood at Rs 1,019 crore. PNB’s stock price closed lower by 5 per cent at Rs 64.75 on Tuesday.

PNB Housing Finance on Thursday reported a 45% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in its net profit to `366.8 crore for the quarter ended September, led by a 36% y-o-y rise in net interest income. Net interest income (NII) stood at `628.4 crore at the end of Q2FY20. Net interest margin (NIM), a key measure of profitability, stood at 3.19%, a 47 basis point increase from a year ago.

Disbursements fell to Rs 12,603.5 crore in H1FY20, compared to Rs 18,172.2 crore a year ago. While retail disbursement fell 10% y-o-y to Rs 11,748 crore, corporate fell 83% y-o-y to Rs 856 crore in H1.

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