KARACHI: The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) on Thursday reported that its profit after tax (PAT) fell 1.5 per cent to Rs4.12 billion during the first quarter of this calendar year compared to Rs4.18bn in the corresponding period of 2019.

`The drop in PAT is attributed to higher provision charge and some increase in operating expenses,` the bank saidin a pressrelease.

The Bank`s profit before provisions and write-off amounted to Rs11.06bn, being 0.7pc higher than Rs10.98bn for the similar period last year.

The non-performing loans (NFLs) increased by Rs7.91bn during the quarter, said the banl(.

Total income also rose 4.8pc to Rs24.87bn during the period under review.