- Business
- Punjab National Bank (PNB), headquartered in New Delhi and founded in 1894, operates as India's second-largest public sector bank by branch network with 10,189 branches and 11,822 ATMs across India; it provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services through its Treasury, Corporate/Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking, and Other Banking Operations segments. Core personal banking products and services include savings fund accounts, current accounts, fixed deposits, capital gain accounts, gold monetization schemes, housing loans, vehicle loans, education loans, personal loans, gold loans, mortgage loans, and other retail loans; corporate/wholesale offerings encompass loans against future lease rentals, working capital financing, term loans, EXIM finance, cash management services, and gold card schemes for exporters; additional services cover micro, small, and medium enterprise schemes and loans, agricultural schemes and loans, banking products for government customers, life and general insurance, depository services, mutual funds, merchant banking, application supported by blocked amount services, debit and credit cards, mobile and internet banking, SMS banking, missed call services, e-statements, ATMs, passbook updating machines, electronic cheque deposit machines, point of sale payment solutions, RTGS, NEFT, UPI, BHIM, and QR code payments. Internationally, PNB maintains branches in Dubai, Hong Kong, and Kowloon, representative offices in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Almaty (Kazakhstan), Oslo (Norway), Shanghai (China), and Sydney (Australia), a wholly-owned subsidiary PNB International Limited in the UK with seven branches, 51% ownership in Druk PNB Bank (Bhutan), 20% in Everest Bank (Nepal), and 41.64% in JSC Tengri Bank (Kazakhstan); domestic subsidiaries include PNB Gilts Ltd, PNB Investment Services Ltd, and PNB Cards and Services Ltd, while associates encompass regional rural banks in multiple states, PNB Housing Finance Limited, PNB MetLife India Insurance Company, and Canara HSBC Life Insurance. In recent developments, PNB completed the merger of Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India effective April 1, 2020, significantly expanding its branch network and asset base to ₹17.95 lakh crore; the bank targets 11-12% loan growth and 9-10% deposit growth in FY26, with strategic focus on project financing for infrastructure, smart metering, and renewable energy projects alongside real estate, rental discounting, and data centers to revive business loan growth, plans to increase retail, agriculture, and MSME (RAM) lending to 58% of its total loan book from 56% in FY25 through nationwide outreach, digital lending initiatives, and doubling self-help group lending, allocates 20% of FY26 capital and revenue expenditure to IT and digital infrastructure upgrades including fintech initiatives like Positive Pay System, PNB PIHU, and WhatsApp banking, reported robust MSME loan growth of 18% in Q1 FY26 with credit outpacing deposits at a 70% credit-deposit ratio rising to 73%, improved gross NPA ratio to 3.78% targeting below 3% with ₹160 billion recovery by FY26, and projects quarterly benefits of ₹700 crore from shifting to the new tax regime despite a one-time ₹3,300 crore provisioning hit in Q1 FY26.