BUOYED by healthy treasury and feebased income, state-owned Oriental Bank of Commerce posted a net profit of Rs 257.4 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, up 16.8% from Rs 220.5 crore in the same period last year.

The non-interest income of the bank grew 90.8% to Rs 391.9 crore during the first quarter compared with Rs 205.5 crore in the same period last fiscal. At the same time, the interest income went up 23% to Rs 2,404 core in the June quarter, against Rs 1,915 crore in the first quarter a year ago. The bank's total income rose to Rs 2,796.1 crore in the quarter under review, compared with Rs 2,159.2 crore in the year-ago period, an increase of 29.5%.

OBC chairman and MD Alok K Misra said the bank was looking to improve its net interest margin by reducing high-cost bulk deposits. He said the bank could raise up to Rs 500 crore in the current fiscal. “We can raise up to Rs 500 crore from tier I and tier II bonds during 2009-10,” he said, adding that the timing of raising capital would depend on the requirement and interest rate conditions.

Source :The Economic Times / 22nd July 2009