Private lender Bandhan Bank on Friday reported a 42 per cent decline in its net profit for the third quarter of the current financial year at Rs 426 crore as compared to Rs 733 crore in the year-ago period. Lender's MD and CEO Partha Pratim Sengupta said that the drop in net profit was primarily due to a change in accounting procedure and an additional provision of Rs 336 crore for loans, which turned bad, during the October-December quarter. He said accounting for the Employee Stock Option Scheme (ESOP) also impacted the net profit to the tune of Rs 166 crore. Sengupta told reporters that the bank has drawn up a strategy for its next phase of growth. He said the strategy is "to be more secular in its approach as a large contribution is coming from the microfinance sector which is facing challenges. More stress will be given on liability products and digital banking". The bank's net revenue during the third quarter of the current fiscal stood at Rs 3,926 crore as compared to Rs 3,