UCO Bank Q1 results: Profit rises 10%

 State-owned UCO Bank on Monday reported 10 per cent increase in net profit at ₹607 crore for the first quarter of current financial year.

In the same quarter of the prior fiscal year, the bank with its headquarters in Kolkata made ₹551 crore in net profit. According to a regulatory statement of UCO Bank, total income increased from ₹6,859 crore to ₹7,433 crore during the June quarter of 2025–2026. 

 The bank's interest income increased to ₹6,436 crore from ₹6,024 crore during the June quarter of FY25. The bank's operating profit grew to ₹1,562 crore during that time, up from ₹1,321 crore the previous year.

As gross non-performing assets (NPAs) decreased from 3.32 percent of gross advances a year ago to 2.63 percent at the end of the June quarter, the bank's asset quality improved. 

 Likewise, net non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, decreased from 0.78 percent to 0.45 percent during the same time last year. On the other hand, bad loan provisions increased by Rs 463 crore in the first quarter compared to Rs 397 crore in the same period last year. 

 From 95.76 percent to 96.88 percent, the Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) increased. Meanwhile, Return on Assets (ROA) increased slightly from 0.7% in June 2025 to 0.71 percent in June 2025.

Capital adequacy ratio of the bank rose to 18.39 per cent, from 17.09 per cent in the same quarter of FY25.

Read More

PSU Bank Introduces New Role of Floor Manager to Improve Customer Service

Beginning July 11, 2025, UCO Bank will be offering a new position called Floor Manager in all of its branches within the Chandigarh Zone. This action has been taken to improve customer service and guarantee that each and every client who visits the branch is assisted promptly and is completely happy. 

 The issue of subpar customer service has also been brought up on multiple occasions by the Ministry of Finance. Nearly all Indian public sector banks are currently attempting to enhance branch ambiance and customer service.

Roll and Responsibilities

Within the branch, the Floor Manager will serve as the main client contact. Their primary duty will be to ensure that clients are never left unattended and that their issues are promptly resolved. 

 They will keep a careful eye on the branch's entire client experience. To guarantee a seamless banking experience, the Floor Manager will also support and guide clients by guiding them through the branch, pointing them in the direction of the right counters or services, and giving them the information they need.

Coordinating with other branch employees to promptly and effectively resolve customer-related issues is another crucial responsibility of the floor manager. Reducing customer wait times and upholding a good standard of service depend on this collaboration. 

 Additionally, the Floor Manager will be in charge of gathering client feedback. The branch will use this input to pinpoint areas for improvement and service gaps. The Branch Manager will be informed of the observations so that appropriate action can be taken.

UCO Bank has made it clear that the collaboration and support of every branch employee are essential to the success of this new position. Employee collaboration is essential if the floor manager is to achieve the intended improvements. 

 Without their backing, this initiative's goal would be unsuccessful. Every branch in the Chandigarh Zone has been directed to designate a single employee to serve as the Floor Manager. 

Main Focus on Customer Service

Additionally, they must make sure the chosen individual understands the significance of their role and explicitly outline their obligations. The goal is to match this endeavor with the bank's overarching goal of providing excellent customer service.

UCO Bank's action demonstrates its steadfast dedication to operational excellence and client happiness.  The bank hopes to improve service delivery, lower customer complaints, and bolster its stellar service record by implementing the Floor Manager position.

Read More

CA arrested in loan NPA case of Rs. 1460 crore for assisting the MD and CEO

Anant Kumar Agarwal, a chartered accountant, was detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Kolkata office on June 25, 2025, in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. A bank fraud case involving M/s Concast Steel & Power Ltd. (CSPL) and other connected parties is connected to this arrest. Tools for managing finances

Anant Kumar Agarwal was brought before the Special PMLA Court in Kolkata following his detention, and the judge granted permission to detain him in ED custody until July 5, 2025, in order to conduct additional interrogation and investigation.

According to the ED probe, Anant Kumar Agarwal was instrumental in the concealment and handling of illicit funds, also known as proceeds of crime. He took this action on behalf of former UCO Bank Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Subodh Kumar Goel.

According to claims, CA assisted in money laundering in a number of ways. Here are a few of the techniques:

He established and ran fictitious businesses, or "shell companies," solely to transfer illicit funds and pass them off as legitimate funds.

He demonstrated fictitious financial operations, including fictitious share capital and unsecured loans, using these fictitious businesses.

Real money was obtained and transferred covertly in exchange for these fictitious transactions.

Anant took money as payment for doing this work.

He also held important roles in some of these companies and used them to bring black money into official records by showing it as share capital or loans.

Background of the Case

Earlier, on May 16, 2025, Subodh Kumar Goel was arrested in the same case. ED found that:

• As CMD of UCO Bank, he approved loans worth over Rs.1,460 crore to Concast Steel & Power Ltd.
• Later, these loans turned into bad loans (NPA – Non-Performing Assets), which means the company did not return the money.
• In return for approving these huge loans, Goel received a lot of illegal benefits, such as Large amounts of cash, Properties, expensive goods and luxury services.
• These illegal benefits were sent to him secretly through a network of fake companies.

Raids and Findings

The ED also conducted search operations in Delhi and nearby areas. They were checking the role of some people who were:

• Taking money from others by falsely claiming they could help them in ED investigations.
• Basically, they were cheating people under the name of ED investigations.

During the searches, ED found Cash and gold and Important documents and digital devices containing evidence.

The ED has said that the investigation is still going on, and they are looking into more people and details involved in this entire fraud and money laundering network.

Read More

UCO Bank Q4 Net profit jumps 24% YoY, Declare 39 paise dividend for FY25

With significant increase in business, profitability, and asset quality, UCO Bank has released a good set of financial results for the quarter and year that concluded on March 31, 2025. As of March 31, 2025, the bank's overall business rose 14.12% year over year to ₹5,13,527 crore. Gross advances increased 17.72% year over year to ₹2,19,985 crore, while total deposits increased 11.56% year over year to ₹2,93,542 crore. 

 Regarding profitability, UCO Bank recorded a net profit of ₹652 crore for the fourth quarter of FY2024–25, which is a noteworthy YoY growth of 23.98% over the ₹526 crore in the same time the previous year. The quarter's operating profit was ₹1,699 crore, up 33.48% year over year from ₹1,273 crore in Q4 of FY2023-24.

The bank also announced a dividend of 3.90% for FY2024-25, which equates to ₹0.39 per equity share.

The RAM (Retail, Agriculture, and MSME) sector performed well, growing by 25.74% year over year to reach ₹1,22,613 crore. In particular, robust demand for home loans and auto loans, which saw growths of 18.13% and 58.99%, respectively, supported retail advances, which increased by 35.09% YoY to ₹54,255 crore. 

 While MSME advances increased by 18.55% YoY, agriculture advances increased by 20.02% YoY. The bank stated that both the gross and net non-performing asset ratios had improved in terms of asset quality. As of March 31, 2025, net NPA improved to 0.50%, a decrease of 39 basis points YoY, while gross NPA was at 2.69%, a decrease of 77 basis points YoY. 96.69% was the Provision Coverage Ratio.

Regarding the bank's network, as of March 31, 2025, UCO Bank had a total of 3,302 domestic branches and two overseas branches in Hong Kong and Singapore, along with a representative office in Iran. 61% of the bank’s branches are in rural and semi-urban areas. Additionally, the bank operates 2,522 ATMs and 10,653 business correspondent points, totaling 16,480 touchpoints.

For the full fiscal year, UCO Bank reported a net profit of ₹2,445 crore, reflecting a 47.80% YoY increase from ₹1,654 crore in FY2023-24. Net Interest Income (NII) also showed strong growth, rising by 23.35% YoY to ₹2,698 crore for Q4 and 18.88% YoY to ₹9,630 crore for the full year.

Read More

This PSU Bank orders Officers to work on Holidays

 

A circular issued by UCO Bank Pune Zone instructs officers to report for duty on holidays. According to the order, officials have been required to monitor the KCC Loan Accounts on April 26 and 27, 2025. According to the letter, UCO Bank has planned a special rectification camp throughout its Pune Zone in an attempt to enhance the performance and supervision of KCC (Kisan Credit Card) SGNPA (Special Mention Account – Non-Performing Assets) accounts. Selected officers from the Zonal Office have been assigned to visit different branches in order to promote the program, and the camp is scheduled for April 26 and 27, 2025.

Purpose of the Camp

The main aim of this camp is to assist branch teams, review the progress of SGNPA rectification efforts, and ensure that corrective actions are being taken to reduce NPA (Non-Performing Asset) levels under the KCC segment. The officers will provide guidance and collect field insights that will help in better managing loan accounts of farmers under the KCC scheme.

All assigned officers have been instructed to:

• Provide support and guidance to branch staff.
• Monitor the status of rectification of SGNPA accounts under KCC.
• Ensure that branches are taking timely action to meet set targets.
• Submit a detailed report of their findings and suggestions by 28th April 2025.

What is the issue?

The people on social media are criticizing the Bank for calling officers on holidays. The main points raised on social media are:

While the whole banking sector is calling for 5 Day Banking, such directives are seen as a big hurdle in the implementation of 5 Day Banking. Holidays are provided so that officers can relax and maintain a good work-life balance.

If officers will work for all the 7 days in a week, then when will they get the time to spend with their family and friends. Family, Friends and social life are an important part of life of human being and a human should be active on his/her social life.

Another important point is the utilisation of public money. UCO Bank is a public sector bank and the money in the bank belongs to the public. The bank has ordered officers to work on holidays and Bank will pay the officers for working on holidays. Normally officers are paid around Rs.1500-2000 per day for working on holiday. This is just mis-utilisation of funds.

Read More

This PSU Bank Union announce Strike on 21 and 22 April

The bank's most recent transfer policy has drawn harsh criticism from the All India UCO Bank Officers' Federation (AIUCBOF), which describes it as "anti-officer" and a willful attempt to restrict workers' rights. General Secretary Sandeep Chowbey has written to the Managing Director and CEO of UCO Bank, requesting that the updated transfer policy, which was issued on March 29, 2025, be immediately withdrawn and that officers' employment conditions be improved.

Frustrated by the lack of response from the management, AIUCBOF has announced a nationwide organizational agitation starting April 2, 2025, and a two-day strike on April 21-22, 2025. The union has warned that further action may be taken if their grievances are not addressed. The federation has raised several objections regarding the transfer policy, such as:

• Unilateral Changes: The policy was revised twice in five months without incorporating officers’ inputs.
• Deterioration of Service Conditions: Key provisions, such as repatriation rules, transfer exemptions, and work-life balance considerations, have been altered against officers’ interests.
• Anti-Lady Officer Provisions: AIUCBOF has accused the bank of not implementing transfer benefits for female officers in the true spirit of the policy.
• Reduction in Maximum Retention Period: The allowed tenure has been reduced from 13 years to 8 years, causing distress among officers.
• Unfair Performance-Based Transfers: The bank has linked punishment transfers to performance, a move AIUCBOF calls subjective and prone to misuse.

Attack on Trade Unions Alleged

The union has also accused the bank of attempting to weaken trade unions by reducing exemptions for office bearers and introducing arbitrary restrictions on union leaders’ tenure. AIUCBOF warns that this move threatens the democratic representation of officers within the bank. Apart from the transfer policy, AIUCBOF has highlighted other longstanding issues, including:

• Acute staff shortages, forcing officers to perform clerical duties.
• Excessive work hours and unpaid overtime leading to health hazards.
• Workplace harassment, including misbehavior from senior management and punitive transfers for raising concerns.
• Lack of financial relief, such as TDS absorption on perquisites, despite other banks providing this benefit.

AIUCBOF has urged UCO Bank to reconsider the policy and hold discussions with officers before implementing any changes. The federation maintains that officers in Scales I, II, and III are crucial in driving the bank’s business and should not be subjected to arbitrary policies that undermine their rights. With the April 21-22 strike looming, the ball is now in UCO Bank management’s court to address officers’ grievances and avoid disruption in banking services.

Read More

Government will sell stake in three PSU banks, why this situation came?

The central government can sell stake in three big public sector banks. These three banks are UCO Bank, Punjab and Sindh Bank and Indian Overseas Bank. The government has more than 95% stake in these, the rest is with public investors.

Let us tell you that as per the Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) rules of SEBI, all listed companies should have at least 25% public shareholding. Keeping this in mind, the government has made a plan to sell its stake.

Live Mint news quoted sources as saying that depending on market conditions, the three banks may conduct multiple rounds of qualified institutional placement (QIP) in FY2026 to meet regulatory requirements.

The government has allowed public sector banks to explore equity dilution this year and time their market offerings strategically, a source said. The stake sale is expected to be between 5-10% of the paid-up equity capital this year.

SEBI gave time till August 2026 to public sector banks to comply with the rule. At the same time, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was given time till 16 May 2027 to reach 10% public shareholding.

By December 31, 2024, seven of the 12 public sector banks—State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank, Union Bank of India and Bank of India—had fulfilled SEBI's MPS requirement.

Bank of Maharashtra and Central Bank of India have not yet taken steps to comply with the MPS rule. Let us tell you that the government has 93.08% stake in Central Bank of India, 79.60% in Bank of Maharashtra, 95.39% in UCO Bank, 98.25% in Punjab and Sindh Bank and 96.38% in Indian Overseas Bank.

Read More

Government will decrease share by 3% in one PSU Bank by March 2025

State-owned UCO Bank announced on Tuesday its plan to raise Rs.2,000 crore through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) during the current quarter. A few days earlier, Punjab & Sind Bank had announced to raise funds via QIP. The government has approved sale of stake in five public sector banks. These Banks will raise funds via QIP.

UCO Bank Managing Director and CEO Ashwani Kumar revealed that the government recently approved the QIP plan. Following this issuance, the Government of India’s stake in the bank, currently at 95.39% (as of December 2024), will decrease by 3%.

The government has extended the deadline for central public sector enterprises and public sector financial institutions to meet the MPS norms until August 2026. Of the 12 public sector banks, five, including UCO Bank, have yet to achieve the required public shareholding. The move aims to comply with the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms, which require listed companies to maintain a public shareholding of at least 25%.

The bank has already appointed merchant bankers and legal advisers and initiated discussions with potential investors such as mutual funds. The QIP will be launched during the ongoing quarter when market conditions are favorable.

Read More