HDFC Bank's advances rise 21% in March quarter; deposits go up 24%

The country’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank said in its quarterly update that its advances grew 21 per cent in the quarter ending March (Q4FY20) while its deposit base grew 24 per cent in the same period.

In absolute numbers, the bank’s advances aggregated to Rs 9.93 trillion in Q4FY20 compared to Rs 8.94 trillion in Q4FY19. This comes at a time when the overall bank credit growth has remained weak, given the challenging economic conditions.

Similarly, the deposit base of the private sector lender stood at Rs 11.46 trillion in Q4FY20 compared to Rs 9.23 trillion in the same period last year. In the recent past, the private banking sector, especially the small banks, has seen erosion in deposit base after the YES Bank crisis.

The bank’s current account savings account (CASA) ratio stood at 42 per cent in the quarter compared to 42.4 per cent as of March 31, 2019, and 39.5 per cent as of December 31, 2019.

The lender said it purchased loans of Rs 5,479 crore in the quarter through the direct assignment route under the home loan arrangement with Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

On Thursday, Moody’s said that disruptions to economic activity from the coronavirus pandemic will exacerbate a slowdown in India’s economy.