Central Bank of India Q2 FY26 | ₹8,777 Cr Revenue, ₹1,232 Cr PAT – From PCA Patient to PSU Comeback Kid
1. At a Glance – From ICU to IPO Vibes
India’s oldest surviving public-sector bank is acting young again. At ₹ 36.9 a share (Mcap ₹ 33,400 Cr), Central Bank of India (CBoI) just printed a Q2 FY26 net profit of ₹ 1,232 Cr (+33 % YoY) on revenue ₹ 8,777 Cr. ROE 11 %, ROA 0.85 %, CAR 13.8 %, NIM 3.2 % — words once unthinkable for a bank that spent half the 2010s in the regulatory hospital called Prompt Corrective Action.
Stock trades at 0.87× book, P/E 7.4×, dividend yield 0.54 %. Once infamous for 14 % gross NPAs, now down to 3.0 % gross / 0.5 % net. A PSU miracle or just the side-effect of massive government antibiotics? Read on.
2. Introduction – The Bank That Refused to Die
Born in 1911, Central Bank of India is literally older than RBI itself. For decades it was the banker to freedom fighters, farmers and fraudsters alike. Then came 2008–2018 — the dark age of bad loans. CBoI was stuffed with stressed assets faster than its branches could print loan passbooks.
By 2017, RBI threw it into PCA quarantine. The diagnosis: “High NPA, low ROA, and no hope.” Cut to FY26 — the same patient is out of the hospital bench-pressing profits and raising insurance subsidiaries. A true PSU redemption arc straight out of Satyajit Ray meets Scam 1992.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
They do what banks do — lend money and pray it returns.
Corporate Banking (34 %) – Old school loans to infrastructure & manufacturing.
Retail (28 %) – Home loans (~57 % of retail book), education, personal.
Treasury Ops – Government bonds, forex and money-market trading.
Branch footprint: ≈ 4,500 branches, 2,900 ATMs, 10,300 BC outlets across 28 states & 7 UTs. 65 % branches rural/semi-urban — because someone has to open accounts where Paytm doesn’t reach.
Digital side hustle: UPI, IMPS, and now an IFSC banking unit approved at GIFT City (2025) — the PSU way of saying “we also know what fintech is.”
