Deposits in HDFC Bank rise 24% in March quarter, advances up 21%

 At a time when private-sector lenders are facing a decline in deposit base, HDFC Bank has reported a 24.2 per cent increase in aggregate deposits during the January-March period at Rs 11.46 lakh crore, compared to Rs 9.23 lakh crore in the same quarter last year. On the quarter-on-quarter basis, the aggregate deposits rose by 7.41 per cent from Rs 10.67 lakh crore as of 31 December 2019, HDFC said in a filing to Bombay Stock Exchange.

HDFC Bank's advances aggregated to Rs 9.9 lakh crore as of March 31, 2020, registering a growth of around 21 per cent as compared to Rs 8.19 crore in the year-ago period. The amount stood at Rs 9.36 lakh crore as of December 31, 2019.

The private lender's CASA ratio, the ratio of deposits in current and saving accounts to total deposits, stood at around 42 per cent in Q4FY20, as against 42.4 per cent as of Q4FY19 and 39.5 per cent as of Q3FY20. A higher CASA ratio means major portion of the deposits of the bank has come from current and savings deposit, which indicates a lower cost of funds.

During the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2020, the bank purchased loans worth Rs 5,479 crore through the direct assignment route under the home loan arrangement with Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC), it said.

In a similar trend, Kotak Mahindra Bank saw its deposits growing by 11.7 per cent to Rs 2.58 lakh crore in March 2020, from Rs 2.31 lakh crore on December 31, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

On the flip side, many of private lenders, including YES Bank, RBL Bank and IndusInd Bank, have witnessed a fall in their deposit base in recent time, thanks to the YES Bank fiasco and later to global volatility triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. While RBL Bank lost about 8 per cent of its deposits in the March quarter, YES Bank saw a 34 per cent or Rs 71,991 crore decline in its deposit base between September 2019 to March 5, indicating a complete break of trust in the bank.

YES Bank's deposit base had fallen considerably from Rs 2.09 lakh crore in September 2019 to Rs 1.37 lakh crore as on March 5, 2020, amid concerns over long-term viability of the bank and its ability to raise fund. Crisis-hit YES Bank has been bailed out by the government and the RBI along with a slew of lenders.

Also Read: Coronavirus update: 697 fresh COVID-19 cases, 109 deaths reported so far

Also Read: Infosys Q4 revenue to take 130bps hit; FY21 outlook gloomy: Analyst report