Performance Evaluation of Canara Bank in India: Trend Analysis of Deposit Mobilisation and Fund Deployment

Abstract

Deposit mobilisation and the deployment of mobilised resources through advances are the twin pillars of bank intermediation, and the manner in which a bank manages this asset–liability interface has a direct bearing on its financial soundness. This study analyses the trend in deposit mobilisation and deployment of funds of Canara Bank, a leading Indian public sector bank, by examining its deposits and advances over the ten-year period FY 2015–16 to FY 2024–25 — a period spanning the amalgamation of Syndicate Bank with Canara Bank effective 1 April 2020. The study is based entirely on secondary data drawn from the audited Balance Sheets and Schedules annexed to the Annual Reports of Canara Bank, with the FY 2014–15 Annual Report used additionally as the base-year reference for computing opening-year growth. Total deposits, the deposit mix (demand, savings and term deposits), the CASA ratio, the cost of deposits, deposits per branch and per employee, total advances and the Credit–Deposit Ratio were examined using Year-on-Year growth rates, Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and simple linear regression. Total deposits grew from ₹4,79,791.56 crore to ₹14,56,883.18 crore (CAGR 13.13 per cent) and total advances from ₹3,24,714.82 crore to ₹10,49,155.02 crore (CAGR 13.92 per cent), with the amalgamation year producing a discrete, one-time structural jump rather than an organic acceleration. Deposit growth and advances growth were found to be strongly and significantly correlated (r = 0.95, p < 0.01), and simple regression confirmed deposit growth as a statistically significant predictor of advances growth (R² = 0.91, p < 0.01). The Credit–Deposit Ratio remained within a disciplined band of 63.22 per cent to 72.74 per cent throughout, indicating sound liquidity management even as the balance sheet nearly tripled. The findings carry direct practical implications for the Bank's deposit-mobilisation strategy, CASA rebuilding, branch and employee productivity, and credit-deployment planning in the post-merger phase