Central Bank of India Q2FY27: consolidated PAT up 22% YoY to ₹1,486 Cr, margins expand

Central Bank of India's consolidated net profit for Q2 FY27 (quarter ended September 30, 2026) rose 21.8% YoY to ₹1,485.99 Cr, from ₹1,219.59 Cr a year ago, and 11.8% QoQ from ₹1,328.95 Cr, on consolidated total income of ₹11,774.37 Cr (interest earned ₹10,393.89 Cr, up 18.4% YoY). Standalone PAT came in at ₹1,468.86 Cr, up roughly 21% YoY — within 1.2% of the consolidated figure, so the two bases don't diverge materially. Basic consolidated EPS was ₹1.64, against ₹1.46 last quarter and ₹1.36 a year ago. Neither the current nor the year-ago quarter carried any exceptional or extraordinary items, so this is a clean, unadjusted comparison. The headline growth masks a weaker pre-tax trend. Consolidated operating profit was ₹2,279.32 Cr, up only modestly from ₹2,196.25 Cr in Q1, while provisions jumped to ₹564.34 Cr from ₹405.03 Cr, pulling profit before tax down 4.3% QoQ to ₹1,714.98 Cr (from ₹1,791.22 Cr). PAT still rose because the effective tax rate fell to roughly 14.0% this quarter from ~25.8% in Q1 FY27 and ~17.6% a year ago — a below-the-line tailwind that did much of the work behind the QoQ PAT gain. Operating margin (operating profit over interest income) expanded YoY to 21.93% from 20.46%, but compressed from 22.58% in Q1 as interest expended (₹6,226.65 Cr) and operating costs grew faster than revenue sequentially; net profit margin nonetheless expanded to 14.30% from 12.40% QoQ and 11.86% YoY, largely reflecting the tax effect. Segment data shows a notable mix swing: Retail Banking segment profit fell to ₹389.34 Cr from ₹1,383.21 Cr in Q1, while Wholesale Banking swung from a ₹139.14 Cr loss to a ₹601.27 Cr profit — a shift worth watching rather than a confirmed trend. Against management's FY27 guidance of 14-16% advances growth and 11-12% deposit growth (set out on the Q1 call), the bank is running well ahead on both: consolidated advances grew 30.35% YoY to ₹3,74,373.66 Cr and deposits 14.34% YoY to ₹5,08,862.56 Cr, consistent with the provisional business update filed October 5, 2026 (advances +29.83% YoY, total business +20.55% YoY). Return on assets improved to 1.05% (annualised), above the bank's 1%+ target and up from 0.99% in Q1; asset quality kept improving, with consolidated gross and net NPAs down to 2.40% and 0.32% respectively, directionally consistent with the sub-1% slippage goal management set out, though the bank did not disclose a discrete slippage ratio this quarter. One caution: CASA deposits grew a slower 9.21% YoY, dragging the CASA ratio down 213bps to 44.70% from 46.83% — a funding-mix shift toward costlier term deposits that likely feeds the QoQ operating-margin compression. No analyst consensus estimates specific to this quarter turned up in search, so the print cannot be benchmarked against the Street; management had also not issued a press release or commentary on the result at the time of writing, so there is no company framing to reconcile against the numbers. The results were approved at a board meeting held the same day (October 17, 2026); a previously flagged employee strike was deferred in late September, and the quarter also saw senior management portfolio changes and a three-year term extension for an Executive Director.