PUBLIC SECTOR LENDER Indian Bank plans to maintain its tech investment pace with an IT spend of around Rs 1500 crore in FY26, matching the past two years. Alongside, it will recruit nearly 3000 personnel, including specialists in cybersecurity, IT, risk management and forex, plus generalists.
Marking its 119th anniversary, the bank will open 119 new branches. Of these 50 are already operational. This expansion will focus on underpenetrated but economically significant regions in Mumbai, Gujarat and Rajasthan. MD & CEO Binod Kumar said Q1 FY26 saw corporate loan sanctions jump 50 per cent YoY to Rs 27,000 crore, including large-ticket loans of about Rs 5000 crore. The AAA-rated loan portfolio rose from Rs 49,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore, led by the power and aviation sectors. While public CapEx remains strong, private investment is below expectations, with activity mainly in renewable energy, city gas distribution, and PLI-linked sectors.
Digitally, FY25 has been transformative, with total digital business doubling to Rs 1.67 lakh crore. The bank launched 121 digital journeys, now covering 132 end-to-end processes across retail, agriculture, MSME, and corporate banking. 95 per cent of savings accounts open digitally; 92 per cent of transactions are via digital channels. “We have launched a lighter version of our INDSMART app focused exclusively on UPI transactions, to encourage customers to use our platform instead of third-party apps,” said Kumar. “Additionally, we introduced a dedicated MSME business app that allows borrowers to apply for loans independently, without needing to visit a branch.” It has also opened a branch exclusively for senior citizens to attract stable deposit flows and improve service quality for that demographic.
In Q1 FY26, digital transactions rose from 90 per cent to 93 per cent overall, retail adoption jumped to 87 per cent, and agri transactions to 96 per cent. UPI volumes increased from 2.12 crore to 2.82 crore per day. Digital business for the quarter stood at Rs 57,955 crore, targeting Rs 2.25 lakh crore for the year. The bank also began issuing e-Bank Guarantees and deploying Agentic AI for collections, along with automation in corporate credit assessment.
Recoveries in Q1 totaled Rs 2059 crore, including Rs 815 crore from written-off assets and Rs 451 crore from one NCLT account. Resource Acquisition Centres (RACs) remain a focus, with 100 centres and 403 Relationship Managers in place; 25 more RACs will be added in FY26.
Performance metrics remain on track: deposits up 9.26 per cent, advances up 11.5 per cent, CASA at 39 per cent (target 40%), gross NPAs below 3 per cent (aiming for 2.5%), and net NPAs steady at 0.65 per cent.