Jana Small Finance Bank Q3 FY26 – ₹33,324 Cr Loan Book, ROA Crashes to 0.1%, GNPA Stabilises at ~2.5%: Bottom or Just a Coffee Break?

1. At a Glance – Jana in One Screenshot (But With Sarcasm)

Jana Small Finance Bank is currently trading at ₹352, nursing a -26% return in the last 3 months, and sitting quietly at 0.87× book value, like a topper who forgot to revise one chapter and bombed the exam. Market cap is ₹3,708 Cr, loan book has ballooned to ₹33,324 Cr, deposits at ₹33,733 Cr, but the latest Q3 FY26 PAT is just ₹10 Cr, down a brutal 91% YoY.

Gross NPA is around 2.5%, Net NPA at ~0.9%, CRAR remains healthy at ~20%, and CASA ratio is 20%. On paper, this looks like a decent small finance bank. On the P&L, Q3 looked like someone spilled chai on the income statement.

Management says: “Issues have bottomed out.”
Stock market says: “Bro, prove it.”

Is this a cyclical pain, a credit-cost hangover, or a structural headache in disguise? Let’s open the hood.

2. Introduction – From Microfinance Roots to Midlife Crisis

Founded in 2006, Jana Small Finance Bank (JSFB) has always positioned itself as a mass-market lender with urban aspirations. From microfinance DNA to affordable housing, MSME, gold loans, vehicle loans, and now a heavy push towards secured lending, Jana’s journey has been about graduating from risky to respectable.

As of FY26:

• ~816 outlets across 23 states & 2 UTs
• 4.3–4.5 million active customers
• ~73% secured loan mix
• A not-so-small ambition to become a Universal Bank (application politely returned by RBI in Oct 2025 – more on that later)

But Q1 FY26 slapped the bank with higher slippages, Q2 didn’t fully heal it, and Q3 finally showed stabilisation—but at the cost of profits. Think of it as a patient whose fever has reduced, but weakness