(Bloomberg) -- Yes Bank Ltd.'s top executive said the Indian lender is putting its problems behind it and will focus on earnings growth after profit surged in the first quarter.
“We have been able to take care of the legacy issues,” Prashant Kumar, the bank's chief executive officer, said in a Bloomberg TV interview on Monday. “Going forward, there will be continuous improvement.”
The bank is looking to build on its highest quarterly profit since the end of 2018, helped by fee income and loan recoveries and a focus on boosting lending. Yes Bank was rescued by a group of lenders in March 2020 after the regulator seized its board to prevent the private lender from failing. Much remains to be done to lift credit growth while improving asset quality amid concerns over India's latest coronavirus hit.
Read how the toughest finance job in India keeps Yes Bank CEO awake
Yes Bank shares climbed 4.7% as of 11:08 a.m. in Mumbai on Monday.
Kumar is optimistic that the impact from any fresh pandemic wave will not be too adverse on lives and livelihoods of Indians, given the rising vaccination rates. India saw the highest deaths in the world in April and May from its latest coronavirus wave just as businesses began to recover from the onset of the pandemic last year.
“Keeping on improving profitability is critical,” Kumar said.
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The bank will aim to maintain a credit-deposit ratio of 100% until the end of March as part of its aim to boost profit through higher interest earnings.
“Even if there is impact from Covid going ahead, I think we will be able to take care from recovery and resolution from our existing pool,” he said on Bloomberg TV. “Let us keep our fingers crossed.”
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