HDFC expects credit growth to exceed 20%

Leading home loans lender HDFC expects its credit growth to exceed 20 per cent in the current fiscal, a top company official said.

"Loan disbursals (in the housing sector) remain very strong. We expect credit growth in excess of 20 per cent," HDFC Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Keki Mistry told PTI on the sidelines of a conference here.

Last fiscal, loan disbursals of the lender stood at Rs 39,650 crore.

He said that the company was cutting lending rates and it would match up to those offered by rival State Bank of India (SBI).

"We are cutting our lending rates. If you take a 15-year time-frame or the full-term of the loan, we are equal to or may be 10-15 basis points higher than SBI," he said in response to a query whether the mortgage house would cut rates. Mistry said rates are bound to go up if credit offtake in the system improves.

Housing Development Finance Corporation's (HDFC) net profit rose 24.3 per cent to Rs 663.94 crore in the second quarter ended September 30. Total income rose 8.8 per cent to Rs 2,850.23 crore in the same period over Q2 2008.

Shares of HDFC closed at Rs 2,760 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, higher by 0.06 per cent over the previous close.

HDFC provides long-term housing loans to low and middle-income individuals, as well as to corporations.

It also provides construction finance to real estate developers apart from facilitating lease-financing for firms and development authorities for infrastructure.