IndusInd net up 30%; ropes in a partner for payment solutions

Mid-sized private sector lender IndusInd Bank today reported a 30 per cent jump in December quarter net at Rs 581 crore driven by higher core income.
The Hinduja group promoted bank also announced a tie-up with a payments company PayU Money, for its digital expansion.
The bank's core net interest income grew 36 per cent to Rs 1,173.42 crore during the reporting period on a 29 per cent growth in credit, which saw the retail side outpacing the wholesale lending by a notch at 29 per cent.
Excluding the recently acquired diamond portfolio, the credit growth stood at up to 25 per cent.

Unlike its peers, which have stitched tie ups with entities who have received payments bank licences, IndusInd preferred a company which is not among the 11 selected ones and the nature of partnership is also different, as there is no exchange of equity, its Managing Director and Chief Executive Romesh Sobti told reporters here.
He said the share of high margin retail advances rose to 44 per cent and in the next three-four quarters, the loan book will be evenly split between wholesale and retail.

Its net interest margin expanded to 3.91 per cent from the 3.67 per cent, despite a 0.35 per cent cut in interest rates during the fiscal, as the cost of funds corrected faster, Sobti said, adding there was also a rise in the low-cost Casa deposit base to 34.98 per cent.

On the asset quality front, the book was fairly stable with the gross non-performing assets ratio being 0.82 per cent as against 0.77 per cent in the quarter ago period and 1.05 per cent in the year ago period.
Sobti said the bank sold Rs 53 crore of bad assets to asset reconstruction companies, and recovered Rs 31 crore of assets sold previously, which resulted in a net increase of Rs 23 crore in the securities receipts book.
He said the bank is likely to meet its credit cost guidance of 0.60 per cent as the costs over three quarters add up to 0.43 per cent at present.

The bank has ventured into the low-cost housing segment and disbursed its first loan yesterday, a senior official said. Another official said the bank will be targeting the single truck owner, the mainstay of its business, for the newly launched affordable housing loans.
Sobti said the bank will not be impacted much by the change in base rate calculation and added that 70 per cent of its book is under fixed rates. Here on, capital conservation and maintaining the book quality will be the key focus area for the company, Sobti said.
IndusInd shares closed at Rs 912.45, 2.7 per cent down on BSE.