HDFC Bank said its gross advances at the end of the March quarter rose 1.6% to INR 25.08 trillion (USD 300.44 billion) from the December quarter. The bank's deposits in the March quarter rose 7.5% to INR 23.8 trillion from the December quarter. Gross advances at INR 16.14 lakh crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year and rose over INR 24.69 lakh crore as of December 31, 2023, the bank informed.

The private lender said that its domestic retail loans grew by around 108.9% over March 31, 2023, and around 3.7% or INR 43,700 crore over December 31, 2023. In March, the commercial & rural banking loans grew by around 24.6% and around 4.2% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). Concerning corporate and other wholesale loans, the growth was around 4.1% over March 31, 2023, the filing said.

“Grossing up for transfers through inter-bank participation certificates and bills rediscounted, the Bank’s advances grew by around 53.8% over March 31, 2023, and around 1.9% (INR 472 billion) over December 31, 2023,” HDFC Bank said in a regulatory filing.

As of March 31, 2024, HDFC Bank’s deposits aggregated to INR 23.80 lakh crore- up 26.4% over INR 18.83 lakh crore reported at the end of the corresponding quarter. Quarterly, the growth was around 7.5%, the lender noted.

The lender’s domestic retail loans grew by around 108.9% year-on-year (YoY) and around 3.7% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), while commercial and rural banking loans grew by around 24.6% YoY and 4.2% QoQ.

HDFC Bank’s deposits aggregated to approximately ₹23.80 lakh crore in Q4FY24, increasing by 26.4% YoY and 7.5% QoQ. At the same time, retail deposits grew by around 27.8% YoY and around 6.9% QoQ. Wholesale deposits grew by 19.4% YoY and around 10.9% QoQ, it said.

The filing also showed that retail CASA grew by around 8.8% over March 31, 2023, and 6.3% over December 31, 2023, while the CASA ratio stood at around 38.2% as of March 31, 2024, against 44.4% in the same quarter last year.

It must be noted that HDFC Bank was merged with HDFC Limited on July 01, 2023, and per the exchange filing by the private lender, the figures for the period ended March 31, 2024, include the operations of erstwhile HDFC Limited. Following the merger, it has seen its LDR rise, prompting analysts to say the bank needs to raise deposit growth or slow its loan growth.

LDR is an important metric for banks as it helps assess their liquidity position by gauging whether it has enough deposits on its balance sheet to fund loan growth.

For HDFC Bank, the merger added a large pool of mortgage loans to its portfolio but a much smaller number of deposits since before the merger the parent was a housing finance company and did not have large customer deposits.

The company's shares rose as much as 3% to their highest since mid-January before trimming some gains to last trade up 2%. At 09:20 AM, HDFC Bank shares were trading 2.82% higher at INR 1,524.35 apiece on the BSE. The bank's shares have fallen about 10% since third-quarter earnings on January 16.

HDFC Bank shares were in focus on April 4 as the bank stock opened at an over two-month high and continued to trade above the INR 1,500 mark. This is the first time since January 17 that the stock has risen past this level.

HDFC Bank shares traded over 2% higher at INR 1,512.55 on BSE at 10 AM. The stock has gone up about 5.6% in the past month, however, so far in 2024 (year-to-date), it has erased more than 10% of investors’ wealth. This compared to a 2% rise in benchmark Sensex during the four months.

Foreign investors reduced their stake in HDFC Bank by 4.5% to 47.8% in the March quarter, according to the latest shareholding pattern on BSE. Meanwhile, mutual funds increased their holdings by 3.72% to 23.17%, from 19.45% a quarter ago.

HDFC Bank surged almost 3% to INR 1,525 at 3 PM. Analysts said the surge in the stock price was on expectations of increased weight in the MSCI index due to a reduction in foreign shareholdings.

This is likely to increase HDFC Bank's weight in the MSCI Index. Analysts anticipate this adjustment could trigger around USD 2 billion inflow into the stock. Currently, HDFC Bank holds a 4.36% weight in the MSCI Index.

Article Source – HDFC Bank, CNBC, Reuters