Latha quits as bank’s CEO & MD half way her term
KOCHI: Dhanlaxmi Bank, the smallest among the four Kerala-based old banks, has staged a smart show for the second quarter with 82 per cent year-on-year growth in its net profit at Rs22.07 crore against Rs12.15 crore the bank posted for the same period last year.
Meanwhile, T Latha (seen in the picture) has put in her resignation as MD & CEO of Dhanlaxmi Bank citing personal reasons. The same has been accepted by the board with effect from the close of business hours on October 31, 2019 (Thursday).
Latha who took the helm at the bank on July 2, 2018 for a period of three years, served the post only for one year and four months. She has been credited with having played a crucial role in turning around the bank.
Coming to the bank financials, the total income for the quarter under review was to the tune of Rs276.85 crore compared with Rs226.73 crore the bank reported for the same period last year. The operating profit for the period was at Rs47.45 crore compared with a loss of Rs6.07 crore during the comparable period last year.
The sterling performance for Q2 has been achieved despite a provision of Rs25.38 crore, whereas the bank enjoyed a write-back of provision at Rs18.19 crore for the same period last year.
Though the gross non-performing assets (GNPA) hardly made any difference year on year with Rs476.08 crore as of September 30, 2019, the net NPA did decline from Rs173.54 crore to Rs105.34 crore between these two quarters – dropping from 2.92 per cent to a healthy 1.65 per cent.
The highlight of Dhanlaxmi Bank among all private sector banks is its high provision coverage ratio (PCR) at 89.16 per cent – possibly one of the highest among all banks in the country.
The bank has huge potential for growth in its loan book as the bank carries a low credit deposit ratio (CD) of below 60 per cent – again the lowest among all Kerala banks.
