OBC Q4 Net Down 21 Percent at 264.9 Crore

New Delhi: State-owned Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) today posted 21 per cent decline in net OBC cuts interest rates by up to 0.5 percent profit to 264.9 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31. The bank had posted net profit of 333.6 crore for the same quarter of the previous fiscal. However, total income of the bank increased to 4,564.53 crore during the quarter from Rs 3,532.13 crore in the same period a year ago, OBC said in a filing to the BSE. The bank has proposed a dividend of Rs 7.90 per share for 2011-2012. For the entire fiscal ended March 31, 2012, the net profit of the bank also slipped by 32 per cent to Rs 1,141.56 crore from 1,502.8 crore in the previous fiscal. At the same time, total income improved to Rs 17,055.13 crore during the fiscal from 13,047.8 crore in 2010-11. Meanwhile, the bank announced cut in its lending rate in line with other lenders. The bank has reduced base rate or minimum lending rate by 0.15 per cent from 10.65 per cent to 10.50 per cent effective from May 14, OBC said in a statement. Base rate is the benchmark rate below which a bank cannot lend. With the reduction in the base rate, all kinds of loans would be cheaper by at least 0.15 per cent. Following the Reserve Bank's decision to cut key interest rate by 0.5 per cent to 8 per cent in its annual credit policy earlier this month, several banks including SBI, IDBI Bank and Punjab National Bank have reduced both lending and deposit rates.