Private sector lender YES Bank which is on the recovery path expects to close the ongoing financial year with a return on assets of 1 per cent, the bank’s Chief Financial Officer Niranjan Banodkar said.

Return on assets (ROA) is a profitability metric that measures how efficiently a bank uses its assets to generate profit. A higher ROA indicates better asset utilisation and an increase in the bottom line.

“The bank will exit the current fiscal year with an ROA of 1 per cent, and on an annual basis, the ROA will exceed 1 per cent in the next fiscal year,” he told PTI.

For the December quarter, the bank reported a net profit of ₹952 crore, registering a growth of 55 per cent on an annual basis and 45 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

The reported annualised return on assets (ROA) for the quarter further improved to 0.9 per cent against 0.6 per cent in the previous quarter as well as the corresponding quarter last year.

The annualised reported ROA for nine months has improved to 0.8 per cent against 0.5 per cent for 9 months of the last financial year.

Last year, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) of Japan acquired a 24.9 per cent stake in the bank for about ₹16,000 crore.

Following the acquisition, SMBC nominated Shinichiro Nishino and Rajeev V Kannan as Non-Executive Non-Independent Directors on the bank’s board.

“We want to be a bank that anchors around a 15 per cent growth rate. Clearly with SMBC coming in, there is an opportunity for an upside. Do we take growth higher or do we accelerate profitability… those are the nuances which we will try and balance in the next few months,” Banodkar said.

He also said that a critical component of the bank’s profitability improvement is the resolution of the legacy priority sector lending (PSL) shortfalls.

Since FY24, the bank has maintained a 100 per cent compliance across all PSL subcategories, ensuring that no incremental burden is added to the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) stock.

As a result, he said, the bank’s RIDF balances have continued their steady decline from a peak of about 11 per cent in FY24, to around 6.9 per cent in the third quarter, and the bank remains well on track to further reduce it to below 5 per cent of total assets by FY27.

As these low-yielding RIDF assets mature, he said, the bank would systematically retire higher-cost borrowings while redeploying funds into higher-yielding advances.

Published on February 22, 2026

An explosion lights up the sky as Ukrainian servicemen hit a Russian missile during a Russian missile and drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 22, 2026
| Photo Credit:
GLEB GARANICH

Russia attacked Ukraine with dozens of ​strike drones and ballistic and ‌cruise missiles,
focusing on energy ​infrastructure, the Ukrainian ⁠military and
local officials said on Sunday.

The overnight strikes hit Kyiv ‌and the region around the
capital, the Black ‌Sea port Odesa and ‌central ⁠Ukraine, they said

At least ⁠one person was injured in the Kyiv region, with
damage reported ​in five districts ‌where more than a dozen houses
were damaged, regional Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said ‌on the
Telegram messaging app.

Odesa ​Governor Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram that a ⁠nighttime
drone attack on the energy infrastructure of the ‌region caused
fires that had been extinguished.

Russia attacks the Ukrainian energy system almost daily,
striking thermal power plants and electrical substations.

Attacks on ‌power stations, the energy transmission ​system
and the gas sector are important elements of ⁠the full-scale
invasion of Ukraine launched ⁠by Russia in February 2022. Moscow
says it ‌is seeking to undermine Ukraine’s ability to fight.

Published on February 22, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump, flanked by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick speaks during a press briefing at the White House, following the Supreme Court’s ruling that Trump had exceeded his authority when he imposed tariffs, in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 20, 2026
| Photo Credit:
KEVIN LAMARQUE

President Donald Trump said on Saturday ‌he will raise from ​10 per cent to 15 per cent ⁠a temporary tariff rate on U.S. imports from all countries, which he ‌imposed after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against ‌his signature tariff program ‌based ⁠on an economic emergency ⁠law.

Infuriated by the high court’s ruling, Trump on Friday ordered an immediate ​10 per cent tariff ‌on all imports, in addition to any existing tariffs. The law allows him to ‌impose a levy of ​up to 15 per cent for 150 days, although it ⁠could face legal challenges.

During that period, his administration will ‌work on issuing new and “legally permissible” tariffs, he said.

“I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising ‌the 10 per cent Worldwide Tariff on Countries, ​many of which have been ‘ripping’ the U.S. off ⁠for decades, without retribution (until I came ⁠along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, ‌15% level,” he wrote in a Truth Social post.

Published on February 21, 2026