Canara Bank reported a steady Q1FY27 performance with profit rising, net interest income growing in double digits and asset quality improving further. In this exclusive conversation, Business Today TV speaks with Brajesh Kumar Singh, MD & CEO, Canara Bank, to decode the quarter's earnings and the bank's outlook. We discuss strong loan and deposit growth, retail and RAM credit momentum, improving GNPA and NNPA, lower slippages and provisions, margin trends, capital adequacy, priority sector lending, and the roadmap for FY27. Will credit demand remain strong? Can margins hold up? What is the man...
What Brajesh Singh said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Canara Bank MD & CEO Brajesh Singh said the bank's Q1 FY27 net profit of ₹4,856 crore and NII crossing ₹10,000 crore were driven by 17.97% advances growth and a CD ratio raised to 80% from 75%, with a yield advantage of 110 basis points on advances over investments. He kept FY27 advances guidance at 11-12% but said the bank will better it, citing an emergency line of credit and strong demand. Singh said credit growth was broad-based, with RAM at 59% of advances. He detailed a plan to raise $2.3-2.5 billion via FCNR(B), ECB, and OFCB, with $775 million already garnered in July. On asset quality, he noted slippages at 0.15%, SMA at 2.76%, and gross NPA at 1.57% versus 1.50% guidance. He said NIM has bottomed out at 2.52% and highlighted a ₹2.59 lakh crore gold loan book with LTV of 60-65%, aiming to reduce bulk deposit dependency.
Key takeaways
Q1 FY27 net profit ₹4,856 crore, NII first time crossed ₹10,000 crore, advances grew 17.97%.
Guidance to raise $2.3-2.5 billion via FCNR(B), ECB, OFCB; $750-775 million targeted/got in July.
Kept FY27 advances guidance at 11-12% but said it will be bettered.
Slippages at 0.15% vs 0.80% guidance; SMA book at 2.76%, gross NPA 1.57% vs 1.50% guidance.
Gold loan book ₹2.59 lakh crore, LTV 60-65%, bank insulated from price shocks.
0:21What are the factors that have contributed to this and do you think this performance will be sustainable all through FY27, sir?
2:30So given this strong start are you also looking at revising your FY27 guidance for both?
3:20How is it likely to pan out for FY27 and which segments would be leading that pack, sir?
4:18If you could help our viewers understand what's the kind of amount you're targeting by the end of say till September or so and beyond the FCNR deposits also are you looking at evaluating any overseas borrowings?
5:46After that period, will there be any kind of a redemption pressure, or is that taken care by the RBI?
6:36So, how do you see the asset quality evolving through the rest of the financial year, and any slippages, as well, if you could give us an understanding?
8:02Have they now bottomed out and if you could give us an outlook for FY27 as well and with this mobilization of FCNR B are you looking at any funding mix to put any kind of changes on the NIM sir?
9:38So, if you could give us some sense of how is that panning out?
10:57What should investors track for the next couple of quarters, sir?
Hello and welcome. You're watching Business Today Television. I'm Sakshi Batra and this is a special edition where we are going to be focusing on Canara Bank's earnings. The bank has reported a 2.2% year-on-year increase in its net profit at 4,856 odd crores. We've also seen that the net interest income has risen by 13% to now over 10,200 crores. That's up from 9,000 crores in the corresponding quarter in the last year. We've also seen the operating profit also increase marginally by 1% here. We've also seen the gross NPA and the net NPA also improve. So, the asset quality is also improving for the bank as well. Let's try and understand from the top management of Canara Bank as to what is the key reasons behind the strong performance or the kickstart that we've seen for quarter one of financial year 2027 and what's the outlook going forward. We are joined by Mr. Brij Kumar Singh. He's the MD and the CEO of Canara Bank. Welcome to you, sir. Thank you so much for taking the time out for speaking to us on Business Today. And of course, congratulations on strong numbers that you've posted. Especially NII for the quarter has grown by 13% at 10,216 crores. What are the factors that have contributed to this and do you think this performance will be sustainable all through FY27, sir?
So, yeah. Thank you for picking up that NII part of it. Yes, first time we have crossed that 10,000 marks. And it is led by good growth in advances. Our advances growth is 17.97 close to 18% and you would have again seen last year same time our CD ratio was at 75%. Now, we have taken it up to 80%. So that 5% on a book size of 12.93 crore, so it is substantial. So from there we have got those extra incomes also and that has helped us in posting a good net profit also at 4,856 crore considering there is more earning in lending than investing. So yield on investment was 6.90 whereas yield on advances is 8%. So that 110 basis point energy was also there so that has helped us and going forward we see that this is sustainable considering we are growing.
Okay. You know when we talk about advances we've seen an 18% year on year growth like you pointed out. The deposits in fact have also seen an improvement of 11 and a half percent. In fact both of these have come in ahead of your own guidance as well. So given this strong start are you also looking at revising your FY27 guidance for both?
I know we have grown good in deposit also. Those guidance we've given to 11 to 12% guidance we've given for advances but that was given in the month of March. That time this emergency line of credit which has also helped was not there. Then there is good credit demand also. So for the time being we'll keep the guidance same at 11 to 12% but we'll certainly better it. There is no fun in revising guidance over guidance. Guidance will be there but we always say that we will be bettering it.
Right. So since you talk about the demand scenario, which are the segments that are leading in terms of the credit demand right now? How is it likely to pan out for FY27 and which segments would be leading that pack, sir?
So we have grown across the board. Our retail loan growth is also very robust. Agriculture also we have grown and MSME also we have grown at 15%. Large corporate book has also grown. So that growth was not a lopsided growth it was across the board. So going forward we would like to have little more share of our RAM in our total advances mix. As of now last year it was 58% retail agriculture and MSME taken together was at 58% out of total advances mix which has grown up this year by 59% at 59%. So we'd like to have some little growth there and some more share of RAM in the total advances mix but growth will come across the board you see so everywhere we'll be growing.
Okay. So you've also launched the FCNR(B) deposit mobilization drive. If you could help our viewers understand what's the kind of amount you're targeting by the end of say till September or so and beyond the FCNR deposits also are you looking at evaluating any overseas borrowings?
Okay so rightly said there are three dispensations which has come recently through RBI. One is FCNR(B) and the other is ECB and OFCB. Whereas OFCB and ECB is available up to December of this year. Whereas FCNR(B) is up to September only that free rupee swap is available. So everybody including us we are targeting first on FCNR(B) and we have given a guidance taken together all these three garnering 2.3 to 2.5 billion in the base case of dollars. So again for this month since we are concentrating more on FCNR(B) only so we have said that this month we'll garner 750 million dollars. Against those 750 million dollars day before yesterday, today's figure I'm not having with me, we could garner 775 million. So by the month end we will be certainly crossing 1 billion mark. So we are right on the track and we will be even bettering this also comes December end by more than 2.3 2.5 billion dollars.
2.5 billion dollars is the targeted amount approximately going by the rate that you are looking at, sir. Sir, if you could also help our viewers understand, since they also have a set period of 3 years, 5 years, or so. After that period, will there be any kind of a redemption pressure, or is that taken care by the RBI?
That's it. We are getting that free rupee swap, now, that they have offered. We are getting free rupee swap, and that by that time we will be having that much synergy, I guess. It happened in 2013, also. That also came to redemption. So, it's an ongoing process. I don't see any problem, and then it will be spread across the banks, not only and it will be across the FCNR(B) also, ECB's also, and the tenor is also 3 to 5 years, also. So, it will be spread over 2 years.
Fair point. So, we've also seen continued improvement in your asset quality both in gross and net NPAs have declined further. We've also seen fresh slippages also moderate. That's also a positive, as well. So, how do you see the asset quality evolving through the rest of the financial year, and any slippages, as well, if you could give us an understanding?
11 more exchanges in this transcript
Sign in free to read the rest of this interview. No card required.
Singh, B. (2026, July 28). Canara Bank Q1 Results Decoded | MD & CEO Brajesh Kumar Singh On Growth, NPAs & FY27 Outlook [Interview transcript]. Business Today. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2921689/
MLA
Brajesh Singh. "Canara Bank Q1 Results Decoded | MD & CEO Brajesh Kumar Singh On Growth, NPAs & FY27 Outlook." Business Today, 28 Jul. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2921689/.
BibTeX
@misc{singh2026_2921689,
author = {Brajesh Singh},
title = {Canara Bank Q1 Results Decoded | MD \& CEO Brajesh Kumar Singh On Growth, NPAs \& FY27 Outlook},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Business Today. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jul},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2921689/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
