Our Bureau

DBS Bank India returned to the black in 2018-19 with a net profit of ₹14.5 crore, against a loss of ₹533 crore in 2017-18. The lender plans to strengthen its presence in the country.

In its annual results released on Thursday, the bank said total deposits increased by 15.76 per cent to ₹33,828 crore last fiscal, and net advances grew marginally to ₹18,108 crore.

After receiving final approvals from the Reserve Bank of India, DBS Bank (branches) were amalgamated by conversion into DBS Bank India Limited (DBIL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-based DBS Bank, from March 1, 2019.

The results are for 11 months of operations of the erstwhile India branches (April 1, 2018, to February 28, 2019), and one month of banking operations in DBIL (March 1, 2019, to March 31, 2019), including costs incurred on set up of DBIL, the bank said.

The gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio moderated to 3.13 per cent in 2018-19, from 5.04 per cent in the previous fiscal, while net NPAs were down at 0.33 per cent of net advances in 2018-19, from 1.09 per cent in 2017-18.

The provision coverage ratio increased to 92 per cent last fiscal, from 82 per cent a year ago.

Surojit Shome, Chief Exectuve Officer, DBS Bank India, said: “Over the previous financial year, we have strengthened our balance sheet and improved the asset quality. We have focussed our efforts towards growing our franchise in India through the establishment of the wholly-owned subsidiary, with the aim to build on the momentum to achieve greater scale in India.”

Using a “phygital” approach, the lender plans to strengthen its presence in India and intends to establish over 100 customer touchpoints – a combination of branches and e-kiosks – across 25 cities in the next 12 to 18 months.