The earnings surged on the back of a 32.3 per cent growth in total business — deposits and advances. The bank clocked a business of Rs 59,808 crore, exceeding the target of Rs 55,000 crore set for 2006-07.

In deposit mobilisation as well as in lending, UBI’s growth was higher than the industry average. While deposits rose 27.1 per cent (industry average 23 per cent) to Rs 37,167 crore in the year ended March 31, 2007, advances went up by 41.8 per cent (industry average 27 per cent) to Rs 22,643 crore.

“As we had a lower credit-deposit ratio of 54.6 per cent in 2005-06, we could lend more out of the incremental deposits in 2006-07,” P.K. Gupta, chairman and managing director of UBI, said. The bank’s credit-deposit ratio at the end of March this year was 60.9 per cent.

In the January-March quarter, the bank registered a deposit growth of Rs 3,364 crore against Rs 1,926 crore in the year-ago period. Most banks have witnessed a surge in deposits in the last quarter of 2006-07 as they offered interest rates between 9.25 per cent and 9.5 per cent on fixed deposits of one to three years.

Advances in the fourth quarter was Rs 1,948 crore compared with Rs 1,267 crore in the previous corresponding period.

Alongside the growth in advances during the financial year, the bank has been able to improve its asset quality. “Our gross non-performing asset (NPA) as a percentage of gross advances was 3.60 per cent on March 31, 1.06 percentage points lower than what it was at the beginning of the financial year,” said Gupta. “Our net NPA has also come down to 1.50 per cent from 1.95 per cent,” he added.

Central Bank

Central Bank of India has reported a net profit of Rs 498 crore for 2006-07, a 93.77 per cent increase over the previous year. Its total business went up to Rs 1,36,265 crore, reflecting a growth of 28.94 per cent.

The aggregate deposits increased 24.51 per cent to Rs 82,776 crore, while advances increased to Rs 53,489 crore from Rs 39,195 crore, H.A. Daruwalla, the bank’s chairperson and managing director, said. Its gross NPA has declined to 4.81 per cent from 6.85 per cent in the previous year.