Indian private lender Yes Bank, in which Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) became the largest shareholder with a 24.22 percent stake in the September-ended quarter, reported an annual jump in net profit, and net interest income improved in the September-ended quarter.
Yes Bank reported an 18.3 percent rise in net profit to Rs654.47 crore, while net interest income rose 4.6 percent year-on-year to Rs2,300 crore while net interest margin rose to 2.5 percent, 10 basis points up year-on-year.
Deposit growth for the bank improved 6.9 percent for the year to Rs2.96 lakh crore, led by CASA (current and savings accounts) deposits with a 12.5 percent growth. “The CASA ratio for the bank is now at 33.7 percent, up 170 basis points year-on-year,” Yes Bank’s CEO Prashant Kumar told the media post announcing the earnings.
While SMBC is now the largest shareholder in the bank, State Bank of India (SBI) will continue to be a major shareholder too, with a 10.8 percent stake.
Post the deal, SMBC now has two board members on the Yes Bank Board.
Advances for Yes Bank grew 6.4 percent year-on-year. But Yes Bank has been on a calibrated path, staying focussed only on high-margin product lines which offer better profitability. These include used cars and affordable housing, rather than new car and home loan products, which several of its competitors offer.
Asset quality for the bank was flat, with gross non-performing assets (GNPA) at 1.6 percent while net NPA ratio stood at 0.3 percent.
Kumar added that Yes Bank was on track to achieve an improved return on assets (RoA) of 1 percent by FY27. The RoA for the bank in the first half of 2025 stood at 0.7 percent.
Kumar said he expected margins for the bank to improve from here on. “The Q2 period was the most challenging and we see a better scenario from here on,” he said.
Kumar added that he was positive on credit growth for the bank improving, particularly towards the large, mid-corporate and small-business lending segments.
The bank management also said that its cost-to-income had been improving for some time and is now at 67 percent levels, from 70 percent earlier.
Kumar highlighted that Yes Bank now attracts a credit rating of AA- or better from all domestic rating agencies, its best level since 2020.
Since becoming a commercial bank a little over 21 years ago, Yes Bank had faced several turbulent periods and climbed out of those at each stage. These included the forced-but-painful exit of promoter Rana Kapoor from the board in 2019, the imposition of a 30-day moratorium by the Reserve Bank of India in March 2020, and a subsequent rescue plan through fresh capital infusion from a consortium of local banks, led by SBI.
From there, over the past five years, Yes Bank, India’s sixth largest by asset size, under the leadership of CEO Kumar has regained investor confidence and rebuilt the trust deficit it was battling.
First Published: Oct 18, 2025, 19:04
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