Punjab National Bank (PNB) is targeting a combined quarterly profit of ₹400 crore from its credit card and cash management services businesses starting FY28, as the state-owned lender expands its digital banking operations and looks to strengthen fee-based income. The bank expects each of the two business verticals to contribute approximately ₹200 crore in quarterly profit, creating additional earnings streams beyond traditional lending activities.
PNB Managing Director and CEO Ashok Chandra shared the targets in an interview with PTI. The strategy comes as the bank looks to diversify its revenue sources and reduce its dependence on treasury earnings and loan recoveries. Alongside these initiatives, PNB is targeting a reduction in its cost-to-income ratio to around 45% by FY29, compared with 50.38% in the first half of FY27.
PNB Targets ₹400 Crore in Combined Quarterly Profit by FY28
PNB expects its credit card and cash management services businesses to become significant contributors to profitability from the next financial year.
Under the plan, the bank is targeting approximately ₹200 crore in quarterly profit from each business, taking the combined target to ₹400 crore per quarter.
The credit card business is expected to reach its ₹200 crore quarterly profit target from FY28. Cash management services, which already contributes approximately ₹130–140 crore in quarterly profit, is expected to reach the same ₹200 crore target from the first quarter of FY28.
| Business vertical | Current position | Quarterly profit target |
|---|---|---|
| Credit cards | Around 11 lakh cards | ₹200 crore |
| Cash management services | ₹130–140 crore quarterly profit | ₹200 crore |
| Combined target | Two expanding business verticals | ₹400 crore |
These figures represent management targets rather than profits already achieved. The bank will need to expand customer activity, transaction volumes and service adoption to reach the projected levels.
Credit Card Business Expands After Digital Platform Rollout
PNB is accelerating its credit card operations after investing in a dedicated digital platform.
The bank’s credit card base stood at approximately 6.04 lakh in March 2025. Following the rollout of its digital infrastructure, it added around five lakh cards over the subsequent nine months, taking the total number to approximately 11 lakh.
The lender is targeting more than 13 lakh credit cards by March 2027.
PNB has also introduced its premium metal credit card, PNB Luxura, to attract customers in the higher-income segment. The product has attracted 27,140 customers so far, with the bank targeting at least 30,000 premium cardholders by March 2027.
The credit card business is being supported by a dedicated management structure, new product offerings and partnerships. PNB believes that its digital platform will help it expand customer acquisition and improve the operating scale of the business.
The bank’s ambition is to establish credit cards as a meaningful profit-generating vertical rather than treating them only as an additional banking service.
Cash Management Services Already Generate ₹130–140 Crore Quarterly Profit
Cash management services are another important part of PNB’s strategy to increase non-interest income.
The business currently contributes approximately ₹130–140 crore in quarterly profit, according to Chandra. The bank wants to increase this figure to ₹200 crore per quarter beginning in the first quarter of FY28.
Cash management services help businesses manage their day-to-day financial operations, including collections, payments, liquidity and transaction processing.
Banks typically provide these services to corporate customers, government organisations and other institutions that handle large volumes of financial transactions.
For PNB, expanding this business can generate fee-based revenue without relying exclusively on the interest earned from loans.
The bank has created a dedicated digital platform for cash management services and placed the vertical under a general manager. It is focusing on expanding the business as part of its broader effort to improve the contribution of technology-driven services to earnings.
Supply Chain Finance Also Becomes a Growth Priority
Apart from credit cards and cash management services, PNB is strengthening its supply chain finance business.
The bank has developed an end-to-end digital platform for dealer and vendor financing. The service is designed to provide financing to businesses operating within corporate supply chains, including distributors, dealers and suppliers.
Within nine months of launching the vertical, PNB had recorded loan sanctions of approximately ₹7,800 crore, with an outstanding portfolio of around ₹5,200 crore, according to the latest management comments.
Supply chain finance can help companies manage working capital requirements while giving banks an opportunity to build relationships with businesses connected to larger corporate customers.
PNB has established a dedicated management structure for this business as well.
Although the bank has not included a separate ₹200 crore quarterly profit target for supply chain finance in the latest announcement, management has identified it as another important contributor to future fee-based income and business growth.
PNB Wants to Reduce Cost-to-Income Ratio to 45% by FY29
Alongside revenue expansion, PNB is focusing on improving operational efficiency.
The bank aims to bring its cost-to-income ratio below 50% during the current financial year and reduce it further to approximately 45% by FY29.
The cost-to-income ratio measures how much a bank spends to generate its operating income. A lower ratio generally indicates that the institution is managing its operating expenses more efficiently.
PNB’s cost-to-income ratio stood at 50.38% in the first half of FY27, compared with 53.3% in September 2025.
The improvement reflects the bank’s efforts to rationalise expenses, increase productivity and improve income generation.
| Financial indicator | PNB’s position or target |
|---|---|
| Cost-to-income ratio, September 2025 | 53.3% |
| Cost-to-income ratio, H1 FY27 | 50.38% |
| Target for FY27 | Below 50% |
| Target for FY29 | Around 45% |
Chandra said the bank is increasingly focusing on deposit costs, lending yields, fee-based income and operating expenses during internal performance reviews.
Improving these parameters could help PNB strengthen its operating profitability even when treasury earnings or recoveries face pressure.
Why PNB Is Diversifying Beyond Traditional Banking Income
Traditional banking income largely comes from the difference between interest earned on loans and interest paid on deposits. However, profitability can also be influenced by treasury performance, recoveries from bad loans and changes in interest rates.
PNB is attempting to build more predictable revenue streams through services that generate fees and other non-interest income.
Credit cards can generate revenue through customer spending, merchant-related income and other card-related charges. Cash management services generate fees by helping businesses manage payments, collections and liquidity.
Supply chain finance adds another business opportunity through dealer and vendor lending.
The bank has created dedicated digital platforms for these three businesses, with separate management structures to accelerate growth.
The strategy is particularly relevant as PNB anticipates that loan recoveries and treasury earnings may face challenges in the coming years. Expanding other sources of income could help reduce the impact of fluctuations in these areas.
The Bigger Picture
PNB’s ₹400 crore quarterly profit ambition reflects a broader effort among traditional banks to expand digital services and increase fee-based income.
Public sector banks have historically relied heavily on lending, deposits and conventional banking operations. However, services such as credit cards, cash management, wealth management and supply chain finance offer additional opportunities to generate revenue from existing customer relationships.
For PNB, the targets are also linked to improving operational efficiency. A larger contribution from fee-based businesses, combined with a lower cost-to-income ratio, could support more stable operating profitability.
However, achieving the targets will depend on customer acquisition, transaction activity, competition and the bank’s ability to scale its digital infrastructure. The ₹400 crore figure should therefore be viewed as a management objective rather than a guaranteed earnings outcome.
Looking Ahead
PNB’s immediate priorities include expanding its credit card base beyond 13 lakh, increasing the number of premium Luxura customers and growing cash management services towards the ₹200 crore quarterly profit target. The bank will also continue developing its supply chain finance operations as another source of business growth.
Starting FY28, PNB expects credit cards and cash management services to contribute a combined ₹400 crore in quarterly profit. At the same time, its target of reducing the cost-to-income ratio to around 45% by FY29 will remain an important measure of execution. The bank’s progress on these objectives will indicate how effectively it can build new income streams alongside its traditional lending business.
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