CRISIL has assigned its 'AAA/Stable' rating to the Rs 10 billion Tier-II bond issue (under Basel III) of Punjab National Bank (PNB), and has reaffirmed its rating on the bank's existing debt instruments at 'AAA/Stable'.

CRISIL believes that PNB will continue to benefit from strong GoI support. PNB is likely to maintain its comfortable capitalization and strong market position over the medium term.

The outlook may be revised to 'Negative' if there is steep and sustained deterioration in its asset quality or earnings profile.

Shares of the bank gained Rs 25.6, or 4.52%, to settle at Rs 591.50. The total volume of shares traded was 326,586 at the BSE (Wednesday).