9 August 2018 PNBHFs 1QFY19 PAT grew robustly by 38% YoY to INR2.4b, driven by strong AUM growth, margin pressure and lower credit costs. AUM grew 47% YoY/10% QoQ to INR686b. Repayment rate (annualized) was 24.6% in 1QFY19 v/s 29.7% in the year-ago period. While spreads (calc.) declined 10bp YoY to 2.47%, margins shrank ~40bp YoY to 2.65% due to higher leverage. As a result, NII growth was 28% YoY v/s AUM growth of 47% YoY. Spreads are likely to remain under pressure, as the increase in home loan rates may not be able to match the rise in cost of funds, in our view. C/I ratio (calculated) came in at 24.5% v/s average of 22-24% in the past few quarters. We believe that a sustained reduction in the C/I ratio is a must for an improvement in RoE.