PNB

April 2 (Reuters) - Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS:

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK- GLOBAL ADVANCES AS OF 31 MARCH, 2026 UP 12.17% YOY

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK - GLOBAL DEPOSITS AS OF MARCH 31, 2026 UP 9.3% Y/Y

Source text: ID:nBSE5Zg1F

Further company coverage: PNBK.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

March 30 (Reuters) - Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS:

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK - MCLR REMAIN UNCHANGED ACROSS TENORS

Source text: ID:nBSE5c3Hn2

Further company coverage: PNBK.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

By Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra

MUMBAI, March 5 (Reuters) - Robust demand from long-term investors for an Indian state-run lender's mega infrastructure bond issue this week has prompted two others to tap the market before the end of the financial year, three sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Bank of India BOI.NS and Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS are among lenders that could issue infrastructure bonds over the next three weeks.

Bank of India could raise up to 100 billion rupees ($1.09 billion), while PNB will consider a 20-50 billion-rupee issue, the sources added, requesting anonymity as they're not authorised to speak to the media.

The lenders did not reply to Reuters' emails seeking comment.

Earlier this week, Bank of Baroda BOB.NS raised 100 billion rupees through seven-year infra bonds at a 7.10% coupon, below the 7.25% level that the market had expected, signalling elevated demand for the issue.

"Nearly 60%-70% of Bank of Baroda's bond was absorbed by a large state-run provident fund, and its peers are anticipating a similar response to their issuances," one of the sources said.

"Had it not been for the PF bids, the cutoff could have easily have been closer to 7.25%."

Infrastructure bonds are used by banks to finance long-term development projects.

Three Indian lenders have raised an aggregate 250 billion rupees through these bonds so far this financial year, sharply lower than 892 billion rupees raised in the previous fiscal.

Bank of Baroda is only the third lender to raise this quantum of funds after Bank of India and Axis Bank AXBK.NS.

Bankers said that a lack of sufficient supply of such notes during the financial year could lead to stronger demand for the next few issuances as investors seek to meet their exposure requirements.

($1 = 91.5550 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

((Dharamraj.Dhutia@thomsonreuters.com;))

March 4 (Reuters) - TV Vision Ltd TVVI.NS:

• RECEIVES PETITION FROM PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK UNDER INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODE

• PETITION ALLEGES AN OUTSTANDING AMOUNT OF 2.94 BILLION RUPEES

• PETITION MAY HAVE IMPACT ON OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL POSITION

Source text: ID:nBSEc3HGhZ

Further company coverage: TVVI.NSPNBK.NS

((Reutersbriefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS:

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK - ONE-YEAR MCLR RATES UNCHANGED AT 8.75%

Source text: ID:nNSE1l7WGM

Further company coverage: PNBK.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

Corrects dateline to February 16

By Sudarshan Varadhan, Gopika Gopakumar and Jatindra Dash

SINGAPORE/MUMBAI/BHUBANESWAR, India, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to accelerate the rollout of rooftop solar power is falling short of targets despite heavy subsidies due to loan delays and limited support from state utilities, vendors and analysts say.

The shortfalls represent the latest challenge to India's efforts to nearly double clean energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030, and come as the government plans to suspend clean energy tendering targets amid a mounting backlog of awarded projects yet to be built.

Challenges to plans to increase solar uptake may mean India maintains its reliance on coal-fired power.

India's Ministry for New and Renewable Energy created its subsidy programme for residential solar panel installations in February 2024, covering up to 40% of the costs.

But residential installations at 2.36 million are well below the ministry's target of 4 million by March, according to data from the programme's website.

"Banks' reluctance to lend and states' hesitance to promote the schemes could derail India's efforts to transition away from coal," said Shreya Jai, the lead energy analyst at research firm Climate Trends in New Delhi.

Roughly three in five rooftop solar applications filed on the scheme's website are yet to be approved while about 7% have been rejected, according to government data on the programme, known as the PM Surya Ghar.

In a statement to Reuters about the pending applications, the renewable energy ministry pointed to accelerating installations which have benefited over 3 million households, and said the scheme enables state-owned utilities to reduce subsidy payouts to keep residential power bills in check.

"The loan rejection rate varies across states," the statement said.

Under PM Surya Ghar, consumers apply and select a vendor who handles paperwork and arranges bank financing for solar panels. After loan approval and installation, the vendor submits proof, after which the government subsidy is credited to the bank.

BANK DELAYS

However, banks have been rejecting or delaying loans for numerous reasons including lack of documentation, which they say is necessary to protect public funds.

"We are working with the government to push for some standard documentation, because it is necessary to avoid bad loans. Currently if loans go bad, banks can take away these panels but what will we do with these panels?" said a senior official at a major government-owned bank.

Chamrulal Mishra, a solar vendor in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, said applications are often rejected because the customer has missed electricity payments or because land records are still in the name of deceased relatives.

Residents there dispute the claims that they have missed payments, which they attribute to administrative errors after a change in utility ownership decades prior.

A spokesperson for India's Department of Financial Services, which regulates the country's banks, said they have responded to consumer feedback to allow co-applicants for loans to clear up title claims and the simplification of documentation requirements.

The Renewable Energy Association of Rajasthan said some banks are making collateral demands for loans under 200,000 Indian rupees ($2,208.87), despite scheme guidelines not requiring them to, which is constraining solar power additions.

State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, some of the country's largest lenders, did not reply to requests for comment on the matter.

State-owned utilities are also not promoting rooftop solar as much, as they are concerned about the loss of revenue as sales move off the electric grid.

"Wealthier households typically have high electricity consumption, tariffs and reliable roof access. When they shift from the grid, it leaves a larger financial burden," said Niteesh Shanbog, an analyst at Rystad Energy.

($1 = 90.5440 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan in Singapore, Gopika Gopakumar in Mumbai and Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar; Additional reporting by Saurabh Sharma and Sethuraman NR in New Delhi, and Jose Devasia in Kochi; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

((sudarshan.varadhan@thomsonreuters.com; +65 91164984;))

** Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS reports 2.8% y/y rise in interest earned, ~13% jump in net profit in December-quarter

** Jefferies ("buy"; PT: 150 rupees) flags NIM miss; says asset quality stable but warns about impact of expected credit loss (ECL) provision transition over next 5 years

** JPMorgan ("overweight"; PT: 144 rupees) highlights recoveries from written-off accounts, proceeds from stake sale in Canara HSBC Life as contributing to PAT estimates beat

** Emkay Securities ("buy"; PT: 150 rupees) expects RoA to improve to ~1% over FY27-FY28 on better growth, contained provisions, lower tax rate

** Stock rated "hold" on avg; median PT is 130 rupees, per data compiled by LSEG

** Stock falls 1.55% to 126.07 rupees

** PNBK gained 20.24% in 2025

(Reporting by Abhirami G in Bengaluru)

((abhirami.g@thomsonreuters.com))

** Shares of PNB Gilts PNBG.NS jump 7.4% to 86.68 rupees

** PNBG set to gain the most in a day since late July, if gains hold

** Fixed income markets dealer posts Q3 profit of 539.1 million rupees ($5.93 million) vs year-ago loss of 101.1 million rupees, led by a 17% rise in interest income

** Over 7.5 million shares traded in stock's busiest session since late July vs 30-day average volume of ~302,000 shares

** Stock declined 25.4% in 2025, snapping two successive years of gains

($1 = 90.9387 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

((Nandan.Mandayam@thomsonreuters.com; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))

Jan 6 (Reuters) - Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS:

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK - RBI IMPOSES MONETARY PENALTY OF 485,000 RUPEES

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK - PENALTY DUE TO SHORTAGE OF NOTES AT CURRENCY CHEST

Source text: ID:nNSE3JqWmD

Further company coverage: PNBK.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

Jan 2 (Reuters) - Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS:

• GLOBAL DEPOSITS AT 16.60 TRILLION RUPEES AS OF DEC 31, 8.54% Y-O-Y GROWTH

• GLOBAL ADVANCES AT 12.32 TRILLION RUPEES AS OF DEC 31, 10.98% Y-O-Y GROWTH

Source text: ID:nNSE20tpBM

Further company coverage: PNBK.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

Dec 31 (Reuters) - Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS:

• ONE YEAR MCLR UNCHANGED AT 8.75%

Source text: ID:nBSEc0220k

Further company coverage: PNBK.NS

((Reutersbriefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

** Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS falls as much as 3.1% to 116.6 rupees

** Bank reports borrower fraud to RBI against SREI Equipment Finance for 12.41 bln rupees ($138 mln), SREI Infrastructure Finance for 11.93 bln rupees

** Stock on track to snap 3 months of gains; down ~3.3% so far in Dec

** More than 9.1 mln shares traded as of 9:39 A.M. IST, more than half of their 30-day moving avg of ~15.3 mln shares

** Mean rating of stock is 'hold'; their median PT is 123 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** PNBK last down 0.4%, cutting YTD gains to ~17%

($1 = 89.9350 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru)

((meenakshi.maidas@thomsonreuters.com;))

By Ashwin Manikandan and Nishit Navin

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, Oct 20 (Reuters) - India's Punjab National Bank (PNB) PNBK.NS will face an estimated 90 billion-rupee ($1.03 billion) impact as the lender transitions to a central bank-mandated credit loss framework by 2031, its chief executive said on Monday.

The country's third-largest state-owned lender by market capitalisation is one of the first to disclose an estimate on the likely effect of the rules, issued by the Reserve Bank of India earlier this month, to its balance sheet.

"The impact comes to around 90 billion rupees," said Ashok Chandra, PNB's managing director and CEO in an interview with Reuters. "The bank has done a rough estimate as this (new credit rules) was already in the pipeline ... I don't see any further deviation."

The RBI's draft guidelines require banks to transition to an expected credit loss (ECL) framework, wherein funds are set aside to cover likely risk of default, over a five-year period starting April 1, 2027. At present, provisions for bad loans are made when a loan becomes overdue.

Top Indian banks, including the State Bank of India SBI.NS, are in the process of evaluating the impact from the transition.

As per internal estimates, Chandra said, the New Delhi-based bank will face an impact of around 0.85 percentage points to its capital to risk assets ratio (CRAR), a metric that measures bank's capital adequacy.

PNB's CRAR was at 17.19%, as on September 30, according to the company's presentation. As per RBI's latest financial stability report, Indian commercial banks had a CRAR of 17.3% at March-end.

The impact will be offset by the profit generated from the bank's operations in the normal course, said Chandra.

"I think we will be able to manage with our internal accrual itself. Bank is well poised to take care of all requirements which is going to come in future."

For PNB, a majority of these provisions will be for stage-two assets in its retail, agriculture and small and medium enterprises portfolios, Chandra said.

Stage-two assets refer to high-risk loans where the borrower has missed a repayment deadline but has not turned into a non-performing asset.

The lender on Saturday reported a net profit of 49.04 billion rupees for the second quarter, up 14% from a year earlier. Chandra projects the bank to post a net profit of over 150 billion rupees for the 2026 financial year.

($1 = 87.7863 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan and Nishit Navin; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

((Ashwin.Manikandan@thomsonreuters.com;))

Adds details throughout

BENGALURU, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company's $283 million initial public offering (IPO) was fully subscribed on the third day of bidding on Tuesday, driven by robust interest from institutional buyers.

The insurer, a joint venture between India's Canara Bank CNBK.NS and HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings, received bids worth 18.97 billion rupees ($213.7 million) for 178.9 million shares as of 1:30 p.m. IST, above the 166.7 million shares on offer in the 100-106 rupees band, per exchange data.

This excludes the 7.5 billion rupees raised through anchor investors, including Societe Generale, ICICI Prudential Asset Management and HDFC Mutual Fund last week.

The IPO will value Canara HSBC Life Insurance at up to 100.7 billion rupees ($1.14 billion) at the top of the price range, compared with larger peers HDFC Life's market value of 1.7 trillion rupees and SBI Life's 1.8 trillion rupees, per Reuters calculations.

The demand was tepid in the first two days until qualified institutional buyers showed up on the final day, bidding nearly three-times their quota. Overall, 47.2 million shares were set aside for such investors.

Retail demand remain subdued, with the portion subscribed just 0.35 times.

Canara HSBC Life's offering was only an offer for sale of up to 237.5 million shares. The company will not receive any proceeds from the IPO.

Selling shareholders Canara Bank, HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) and Punjab National Bank are selling 137.8 million shares, 4.8 million shares and 95 million shares, respectively.

India is seeing a flurry of IPO activity, with non-bank lender Tata Capital TATC.NS and consumer appliance maker LG Electronics India LGEL.NS debuting this week.

Last week, LG Electronics India's $1.3 billion IPO garnered bids worth nearly $50 billion, becoming India's most subscribed billion-dollar IPO in nearly 20 years.

Overall, the primary market fundraise in 2025 will likely surpass last year's $20.5 billion record.

An IPO of another Canara Bank-backed company, Canara Robeco Asset Management, was fully subscribed on the final day of the bidding, driven by institutional investors. The listing will likely be on October 16.

($1 = 88.7750 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin and Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Sonia Cheema)

((Nishit.Navin@thomsonreuters.com;))

By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, Oct 3 (Reuters) - At least four major state-owned Indian banks have increased their internal limits for investing in state bonds following discussions with the Reserve Bank of India last month, according to five treasury officials aware of the decisions.

Bank of Baroda BOB.NS, Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS, Canara Bank CNBK.NS and Union Bank of India UNBK.NS - among India's top five government-owned lenders by assets - have raised their investment caps by 5 to 20 percentage points, the sources said.

"Most of the top five-six banks barring one have raised the internal cap that they had set for taking exposure to state debt in treasury books after a round of consultations and meetings with the central bank," one of the officials said.

The sources requested anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to media. The banks did not respond to emailed queries.

Indian banks, including both private and public sector entities, are significant buyers of state-issued bonds, collectively holding nearly 36% of states' debt as of June, according to regulatory data.

BORROWING COST RELIEF

Indian states are projected to raise a record 12 trillion rupees ($135.2 billion) through bond issuances in the current financial year, with 7 trillion rupees expected between October and March.

Reduced buying by banks, insurers, and pension funds had driven yields on state bonds higher by 40 to 70 basis points during the three months ending September, with several auctions undersubscribed.

Market participants now anticipate improved bank participation at auctions, which could ease yields. Banks had also sought changes to the auction process to mitigate mark-to-market losses on their portfolios.

($1 = 88.7600 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

((Dharamraj.Dhutia@thomsonreuters.com;))

Sept 30 (Reuters) - Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS:

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK - MCLFR REMAIN UNCHANGED FROM 01.10.2025

Source text: ID:nBSE9lHqJt

Further company coverage: PNBK.NS

(Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com)

Aug 18 (Reuters) - Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd MTNL.NS:

• DEFAULT IN PAYMENT OF PRINCIPAL & INTEREST OF BANKS BY MTNL

• PRINCIPAL OVERDUE AT 18.73 BILLION RUPEES, INTEREST OVERDUE AT 8.65 BILLION RUPEES

• TOTAL OUTSTANDING BORROWINGS FROM BANKS, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AT 86.59 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE9yF4FP

Further company coverage: MTNL.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;;))

July 31 (Reuters) - Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS:

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK - ONE YEAR MCLR REVISED TO 8.85%

Source text: ID:nNSE6WBLsn

Further company coverage: PNBK.NS

((reuters.briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

** Shares of PNB Gilts Ltd PNBG.NS climb nearly 10% to 117.45 rupees, extending gains after reporting profit jump on Wednesday

** Fixed income markets dealer ended 8.2% higher on Wednesday after Q1 profit jumped three-fold

** PNBG up 19% across last two sessions, set for best two-day gain since September 2023

** Over 16 mln shares traded in stock's busiest session in 13 months, 17x the 30-day avg volume

** Stock turns YTD positive, last up 8%

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

((Nandan.Mandayam@thomsonreuters.com; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))

** Shares of India's PNB Gilts PNBG.NS jump as much as 10.8%, set for biggest intraday percentage rise since October 2024

** Stock last up 7%

** Indian non-bank lender's Q1 profit tripled y/y to 1.60 bln rupees ($18.5 million) as gains made from securities surged with little interest income growth

** Trading vols 8.5 million shares vs 30-day avg of 600k shares in busiest session since June 24

** YTD stock down 2.6%

($1 = 86.4350 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)

((Hritam.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com;))

By Ashwin Manikandan

July 18 (Reuters) - India's central bank is close to finalising rules for banks and financial institutions to disclose and manage risks from climate change, three sources aware of the matter said.

The move runs counter to several top global banks including JP Morgan, Citibank, Morgan Stanley and HSBC, which have decided to scale back their climate commitments with the re-election of climate-sceptic U.S. President Donald Trump being seen as a trigger.

Getting a better idea of how, and to what extent, money is flowing to green investments is a central part of global efforts to move to a low-carbon economy, with countries from the UK to Japan making such disclosures mandatory.

The Indian central bank's norms, which have been in the works since 2022, are expected to ask banks and financial institutions to make regular disclosures about climate-related risks in their loan portfolios along with mitigation strategies and targets, the sources said.

The disclosures are likely to be on a voluntary basis from fiscal year 2027 and then mandatory from fiscal year 2028. India's financial year runs from April till March.

Banks will also be asked to conduct periodic stress tests to gauge the impact of adverse climate events such as floods, heatwaves and cyclones on borrowers and the economy, based on a guidance note which the central bank is also likely to issue soon, the sources added.

All three sources requested anonymity as they are not authorised to speak with media.

The RBI did not respond to an email from Reuters.

The central bank's decision to move forward with the rules has not been previously reported.

The Reserve Bank of India has previously recognised climate change as a source of major financial concern, and released a draft standard disclosure framework in February 2024 for public feedback.

“The signal from the central bank based on recent meetings is that the detailed norms are almost finalised and are expected very soon,” the first source said.

Many banks have already started collating data and setting targets to meet the disclosure standards, the source said.

Some large banks have put out tenders to bring in climate consultants to help them with the disclosures, according to public documents.

ASSESSING BORROWERS FOR CLIMATE RISK

The RBI's decision to move ahead with climate disclosures for its banks comes soon after India released a draft framework aimed at facilitating a greater flow of resources to climate-friendly sectors.

India is also gearing up to publish a new national emissions-reduction target ahead of the next round of global climate talks in Brazil in November.

India, the world's third largest polluter behind China and the United States, currently aims to achieve a net zero emissions target by 2070.

As part of the central bank's climate disclosure rules, banks will be required to calculate gross emissions of borrowers and disclose this information by asset classes and industries, according to the draft norms.

Such disclosures are expected to be included in their financial statements.

Separately, the central bank has also shared a 52-page draft note with large banks, a copy of which Reuters has reviewed, prescribing a methodology to forecast and analyse the impact of adverse climate events as well as transition risks on borrowers' ability to repay loans.

The transition risks are those which emerge from the changing consumer behaviour, policy and technology changes, as the world moves towards a low-carbon economy, as per the note.

While banks are preparing to disclose climate risk embedded in their loan portfolios, they do not expect these disclosures to impact loan pricing in the short term.

"As of now we don't have enough granular data to reliably price in these risks in our portfolios, but the long-term approach could be in that direction," said the second source, who is a banker at a state-owned lender.

(Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan; Editing by Ira Dugal and Kim Coghill)

((Ashwin.Manikandan@thomsonreuters.com;))

BENGALURU, July 15 (Reuters) - India's Mahanagar Telephone Nigam MTNL.NS has defaulted on loans totaling 85.85 billion rupees ($1 billion), the public-sector telecom firm said on Tuesday.

The loans were made by seven public sector, with Union Bank of India UNBK.NS and Indian Overseas Bank IOBK.NS having the biggest exposure, MTNL said in an exchange filing.

($1 = 85.8860 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

((Nishit.Navin@thomsonreuters.com;))

** Shares of Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS fall 2.5% to 110 rupees, steepest intraday drop since May 8

** Citi says PNBK loan growth and deposits in Q1FY26 was lower than expected

** Brokerage forecast nearly 2% Q/Q decline in NII and 12 bps Q/Q drop in NIMs, due to higher rate-linked loans

** Citi maintains PNB at "sell"; PT 101 rupees, an 11.1% downside from last close

** PNBK rated "hold" by 16 analysts on avg; median PT 107.5 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** YTd, PNBK up nearly 8% vs Bank Nifty .NSEBANK up 12.23%

(Reporting by Rudra Pratap Singh in Bengaluru)

((rudrapratap.singh@thomsonreuters.com))

July 2 (Reuters) - Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS:

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK - DOMESTIC BUSINESS INCREASES TO 26.17 TRILLION RUPEES, UP 11.1% Y-O-Y

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK - DOMESTIC ADVANCES AS ON JUNE 30 UP 9.7% Y/Y

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK - DOMESTIC DEPOSITS INCREASE TO 15.37 TRILLION RUPEES, UP 12.2% Y-O-Y

Source text: ID:nNSE3LPrX2

Further company coverage: PNBK.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;;))

LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - Fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi accused India of orchestrating his kidnapping to extradite him on fraud allegations, with his lawyers telling London's High Court on Monday that only India had the motivation and resources to do so.

Choksi – who was arrested in Belgium in April – is wanted in India over his alleged involvement in one of India's biggest bank frauds at Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS, which in 2018 announced it had discovered alleged fraud worth $1.8 billion.

The Indian government has since sought to extradite Choksi, who faces charges alongside his nephew Nirav Modi, who has been in custody in Britain since 2019. The pair deny any wrongdoing.

Choksi is separately suing the Indian government in London, arguing that the state was responsible for his kidnapping in Antigua in 2021, when he says he was abducted and taken to Dominica in an attempt to extradite him to India.

India's lawyer Harish Salve said in court filings that "there is no evidence of India having anything to do with the alleged events".

Choksi alleges he was beaten in a failed attempt to extort a false confession and implicate India's political opposition, which he says points to state involvement in the incident.

Choksi's lawyer Edward Fitzgerald told the court: "The evidence points inevitably to India being behind this – they had the motivation, they had the resources."

Monday's hearing, the first since Choksi filed his case last year, was held to decide when India's application to throw out Choksi's lawsuit on state immunity should be held.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin
Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

((Sam.Tobin@thomsonreuters.com;))

Recasts with court's decision paragraph 1, 12

By Sam Tobin

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - Fugitive Indian diamond magnate Nirav Modi's bid to be released on bail pending his extradition to India was refused by a London court on Thursday, despite Modi citing potential threats to his life as a reason he would not flee Britain.

The jeweller, who fled India in 2018 before details of his alleged involvement in large-scale fraud at the Punjab National Bank became public, has been in custody since March 2019.

Modi, 55, vehemently denies any wrongdoing, his lawyer says. His appeal against a decision to extradite him to India was refused by London's High Court in November 2022 and his bid to take his case to the UK Supreme Court was also rejected.

Modi's lawyer Edward Fitzgerald told the High Court on Thursday that, while the extradition case was technically at an end, Modi could not be surrendered to the Indian authorities.

"There are confidential legal reasons why (Modi) cannot be extradited," Fitzgerald said, without elaborating.

Nicholas Hearn, a lawyer representing the Indian authorities, argued that Modi should not be granted bail as he might attempt to escape – referring to Modi's previous bid for citizenship of Vanuatu – or interfere with witnesses.

Fitzgerald argued, however, that Modi would not flee Britain out of fear of the Indian government, citing alleged recent plots to target Sikh activists in the United States and Canada. India has denied it was involved in any such plots.

He also referred to India's apparent help in taking Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum's daughter Sheikha Latifa back to Dubai in 2018.

"The reach of the Indian government for extrajudicial reprisals is practically limitless," Fitzgerald said. "The idea that he could go to Vanuatu ... and there be safe from the Indian government is utterly ridiculous.

"They would either send a hit squad to get him or they would kidnap him or they would lean on the government to deport him."

The Indian High Commission in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Judge Michael Fordham refused Modi's application for bail, saying that "there are substantial grounds for believing that if released by me on bail ... (Modi) would fail to surrender".

Modi faces two linked criminal cases in India, a massive fraud at the Punjab National Bank and the alleged laundering of the proceeds.

Separately, Modi's uncle Mehul Choksi was last month arrested in Belgium over his alleged role in the Punjab National Bank fraud. Choksi denies any wrongdoing.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; additional reporting by Muvija M; Editing by Andrew Heavens, William Maclean)

((Sam.Tobin@thomsonreuters.com;))

By Siddhi Nayak

MUMBAI, May 8 (Reuters) - Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS (PNB), India's second-largest state-run lender by assets, aims to recover more soured loans this year, leading to a record-low gross bad loan ratio, a key asset quality metric, CEO Ashok Chandra said on Thursday.

The New Delhi-based lender is targeting bad loan recoveries worth 160 billion rupees ($1.89 billion) this financial year, an eleven-fold increase over the 14.36 billion rupees recovered in 2024-25, Chandra told Reuters in an interview.

About 60 billion rupees of that is expected to come from loan accounts which were previously written off, he said.

That would help lower its gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio to under 3% by the end of 2025-26, which would be PNB's lowest on record.

Its gross NPA ratio improved to 3.95% at the end of March from 4.09% at the end of December.

That is a far cry from a gross NPA ratio of 14.33% in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic following a debilitating corporate bad loan cycle between 2011 and 2019.

On Wednesday, PNB reported a near-52% jump in net profit for the January-March quarter, partly as it set aside lesser money for bad loans. Its domestic loan growth was 13.1%, while deposits rose 13.3%.

PNB expects its loan book to grow 11%-12% in the financial year that started in April, and deposits to increase by 9%-10%, Chandra said.

It has a corporate loan book pipeline of 1.35 trillion rupees and expects a 16%-17% growth in loans to medium and small enterprises, he added.

However, since the impact of the central bank's rate cuts typically comes with a lag, PNB's cost of funds will stay elevated for a couple of quarters, Chandra said.

Separately, PNB is in touch with fellow lenders to Bhushan Power and Steel to finalise the next course of action after the Supreme Court scrapped JSW Steel's JSTL.NS four-year-old buyout of the beleaguered company, Chandra said.

PNB has received about 30 billion rupees from JSW Steel as a part of the resolution.

"All options will be explored on what is the way out."

($1 = 84.6780 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

((siddhi.nayak@thomsonreuters.com; x.com/siddhiVnayak;))

April 14 (Reuters) -

• INDIAN FUGITIVE MEHUL CHOKSI ACCUSED IN $2 BILLION BANK FRAUD ARRESTED IN BELGIUM- INDIAN ENFORCEMENT SOURCE

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

April 9 (Reuters) - Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS:

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK - NO CHANGE IN EXISTING MCLR AND BASE RATE

Source text: ID:nBSE7sn1zd

Further company coverage: PNBK.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;;))

April 2 (Reuters) - Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS:

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK - DOMESTIC DEPOSITS UP 13.3% Y/Y AS ON MARCH 31

• PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK - DOMESTIC ADVANCES UP 13.2% Y/Y AS ON MARCH 31

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: PNBK.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;;))