Nirmala Sitharaman lauds PSBs, says profit almost tripled to Rs 1.04 lakh crore in FY23

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday lauded public sector banks and said their net profit has almost tripled to Rs 1.04 lakh crore in FY23. She said, «Public sector banks doing well; their net profit almost tripled to Rs 1.04 lakh crore in fiscal 2022-23.» She said performance of public sector banks have improved on account of various initiatives taken by the Modi government since 2014.

There was an improvement in all critical parameters like return on asset, net interest margin and provisioning coverage ratio, she added. The minister said the twin-balance sheet problems of banks and corporates have eliminated from the economy.

The Indian economy currently has a twin-balance sheet advantage, she stated quoting the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The twin-balance sheet problem refers to deterioration in financial health of banks and corporates at the same time.

However, Sitharaman also asked banks to banks to adhere to regulatory norms, focus on robust asset liability and risk management elements. She suggested banks to frequently run drills for digital safety and ensure adequate firewalls around their systems.