Kotak Mahindra Bank expects 20% credit growth in FY17

Bets on falling interest rates, green shoots in the economy to boost credit offtake

Kotak Mahindra Bank expects about 20% growth in credit during the current fiscal, a senior executive said today.

"This year, we are aiming for 20% growth. The credit offtake (corporate) in recent past has been slow. But as you see interest rates keep falling and you see some green shoots coming out in economy," the bank’s Senior Executive Vice-President Virat Diwanji told media-persons here.

"It is clearly a sign of some positive development in the external environment. And as a result in the second half of the year, we expect the demand from the corporate India to be really on the rise," Diwanji added. Last year, the bank witnessed 14-15% growth in the overall credit offtake.

Replying to a query, he said the corporate credit portfolio of the bank is close to Rs 1,18,000 crore which is one third of the total asset portfolio.

On the Net Interest Margin (NIM), he said it would be about 4.35 to 4.50%. Last quarter, the NIM was at 4.35%.

The Uday Kotak-led bank, which merged with ING Vysya Bank in Rs 15,000-crore deal on April 1 last year, had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,090 crore, in 2015-16, up from Rs 1,866 crore in the preceding fiscal.