Indian Bank's winning formula: deliberately slower growth

Indian Bank reported strong Q1FY27 earnings with net profit rising 10% year-on-year to about 3,273 crore, driving the stock up nearly 10% on Friday. Net interest margin expanded 6 basis points sequentially to the upper end of the 3.15-3.25% FY27 guidance range, even as the bank deliberately kept loan growth at 15.2% YoY (below the system's 17.7%) to protect profitability. Gross NPAs improved to 1.86% and net NPA held steady at 0.15%, with Nuvama projecting RoA of 1.1-1.3% and RoE of 15-17% over FY27-FY29.