Finance Ministry to meet PSB chiefs as sector posts ₹44,218 Cr Q1 profit, SBI leads

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry has called a meeting of the chiefs of public sector banks (PSBs) on Wednesday to review their financial performance for the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

The meeting will be chaired by Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju, according to reports.

Public sector banks posted robust earnings in the April–June quarter of 2025-26 (Q1 FY26), with the 12 lenders together recording a profit of ₹44,218 crore. This marked an 11% rise from ₹39,974 crore in the same quarter of 2024-25, an increase of ₹4,244 crore.

The State Bank of India (SBI) remained the biggest contributor, accounting for 43% of the sector’s profit. The country’s largest lender reported a net profit of ₹19,160 crore in Q1 FY26, up 12% year-on-year, further cementing its dominance in size and earnings.

Among other banks, Indian Overseas Bank posted the sharpest growth in percentage terms, with profits surging 76% to ₹1,111 crore. Punjab & Sind Bank followed with a 48% jump to ₹269 crore.

The Central Bank of India reported a 32.8% increase in profit to ₹1,169 crore, Indian Bank’s net profit rose 23.7% to ₹2,973 crore, and Bank of Maharashtra saw a 23.2% rise to ₹1,593 crore.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) was the only lender among the 12 PSBs to report a decline. Its net profit fell 48% to ₹1,675 crore from ₹3,252 crore a year earlier.

The Finance Ministry’s review is expected to take stock of these performances, discuss the health of the public banking sector and assess the outlook for the remainder of the financial year.

IANS inputs