The banking sector could see better loan growth in the third quarter of financial year 2026 (Q3FY26) with improved net interest margins (NIMs), though the full impact of latest rate cuts will be largely felt in the fourth quarter. There may be lower slippage in unsecured loans and microfinance institutions (MFIs) along with steady recovery trends, which should lower credit cost.
'As these segments are growing at 25 per cent for the last three years, credit quality has been extremely good.'
Best in class asset quality, strong retail granularity, and a sustainable return ratio -- these are the things we will look at, says Yes Bank's new MD and CEO Vinay Tonse.
HDFC Bank, India's largest private-sector lender, has revised its FY27 growth trajectory, stepping back from earlier guidance to align with a more measured 12 per cent year-on-year expansion, citing geopolitical uncertainties.
Analysts have largely maintained a bullish outlook on HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank following their Q4FY26 results, though their perspectives on future growth drivers differ. HDFC Bank's near-term performance is tied to accelerating loan growth, while ICICI Bank is seen as a strong candidate for a valuation rerating.
Housing finance company (HFC) PNB Housing is planning to focus on reducing delinquencies in 2023-24.
The gold loan portfolio across the system has nearly doubled to Rs 15.6 lakh crore in two years to November 2025, as a spike in prices of the precious commodity encouraged lenders to increase their exposures to the safer segment, a report said on Wednesday.
TVS Venu Group has agreed to acquire a minority stake of up to 9.9 per cent in Jana Small Finance Bank, including a 4.9 per cent ownership by TVS Motor Company, through a combination of primary issuance of warrants and a secondary purchase.
'When there is such an elaborate and a strong process, one would have expected anyone to either place the issues so that they can be addressed or go to the regulator and probably tell them rather than creating a kind of uncertainty for the stakeholders.
Lenders are actively monitoring gold price volatility, prompting them to ask borrowers for additional gold collateral or partial principal repayment when loan-to-value (LTV) thresholds are breached, particularly for loans disbursed in February.
'We strongly believe that anyone with capability and a strong work ethic should have a chance at the top job.'
'We currently have new proposals worth Rs 1.48 trillion in the pipeline.'
'We are staying away from making forward-looking statements on when we will reach 1 trillion, etc. But growth will be rapid; it's only a matter of time.'
Bajaj Auto reported a significant increase in its consolidated Q4FY26 performance, with profit after tax more than doubling to approximately 3,662 crore, a 103 per cent year-on-year rise, primarily driven by record volumes, an improved product mix, and the strategic consolidation of Bajaj Auto International Holdings AG (BAIHAG).
India's private-sector banks are likely to lose market share for a second consecutive year in 2025-26, as their loan books continue to expand much slower than overall bank credit.
'LIC will reduce but not fully exit its stake in IDBI Bank, which remains an important bancassurance partner,' says LIC of India' MD and CEO R Doraiswamy.
'Banks may find small ticket size lending economically unviable due to the cost of branch operations.'
'Now we have one of the best asset qualities in the industry.'
'In the last one year, we have added more than Rs 1.7 trillion, and we are on track.'
'We started affordable housing loans that has good traction and the books have grown to Rs 750 crore as of the end of last quarter.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's biggest challenge will be to find a new growth driver, particularly against the backdrop of a global economy ravaged by heightened uncertainty and fragmentation, financial markets on a precipice, and global commodity prices on a continued uptrend.
The country's largest lender SBI on Thursday reported a 4.20 per cent decline in consolidated December quarter net at Rs 6,257.55 crore, largely because of a higher base in the year-ago period where it had benefitted from a Rs 4,500 crore one-off income. On a standalone basis, the city-headquartered lender's net profit came in at Rs 5,196.22 crore as against Rs 5,583.36 crore in the year-ago period and Rs 4,574.16 crore in the preceding September quarter. SBI chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara told reporters that the year-ago period had seen the resolution of the Essar Steel loans, resulting in an over Rs 4,000 crore interest income and Rs 500 crore other income benefit.
Bajaj Finserv - the holding company of Bajaj group's financial services business - has laid out plans for the next five years. During this period, it is eyeing 18-22 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in net profit at Rs 21,000-24,000 crore on a consolidated basis.
This Budget positions India's taxation ideology as not merely a revenue source but as a strategic catalyst for growth, inclusion and long-term confidence.
'This is an area where good lending can happen, and that is one of the priorities for the next quarter.'
'The way the bank is doing in the past 4-5 quarters, no reason to see why we will not be able to achieve that.'
'Reinvention is not a hugely difficult task. With technology as available today, you can reinvent yourself pretty quickly.'
'As the team builds, each of them will bring in a different perspective, new thinking.'
Banking credit in the economy grew by 11.1 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in the fortnight ended March 7, while deposits grew at 10.2 per cent during the same period, which is a gap of around 90 basis points (bps), according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
V G Mathew, managing director and chief executive officer of South Indian Bank speaks to Gireesh Babu, about demonetisation impact, rights issue and future plans.
'Foreign capital will continue to come directly into India, but companies have realised that GIFT City is a more cost-efficient way of channelling funds.'
Concerned over household savings moving towards alternative investment avenues, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday asked banks to mobilise deposits through innovative products and services by leveraging their vast branch network. "Banks are taking greater recourse to short-term non-retail deposits and other instruments of liability to meet the incremental credit demand. "This, as I emphasised elsewhere, may potentially expose the banking system to structural liquidity issues," he said.
'The brand, the team, and the people have to make the transition from playing league matches to Test matches.'
Bank credit growth is expected to moderate this financial year after a robust 16 per cent estimated for last financial year, driven by strong economic activity and retail credit demand. There are three reasons for this: a statistical high-base effect given the strong growth seen last financial year, revision in risk weights by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and relatively slower economic activity.
The Reserve Bank India's (RBI's) decision to ban the onboarding of new accounts on the "bob World" mobile digital platform led to a selloff in the Bank of Baroda (BoB) stock. The stock of the public sector bank dropped by around 3 per cent. The central bank cited "material supervisory concerns"; news reports claimed mobile numbers were randomly linked to accounts to purportedly inflate registrations on bob World.
Defying trends, the country's largest private sector lender, HDFC Bank, has shifted its asset mix significantly towards high-rated segments. As a result, its wholesale-to-retail mix has tilted heavily in favour of wholesale, even at the cost of margins. Further, it is even looking to ramp up its branch network, with an aim to service clients within a 1-2 km radius rather than the current 5-6 km radius.
It is to be seen if SBI under Setty, who will have a three-year term, can ride the economic cycle to take SBI to new heights, navigating some of these challenges.
Axis Bank has strengthened its positioning -- on both the assets and liability side -- and it may be set to deliver sustained improvement in performance. The valuation gap between Axis Bank (which trades at 1.4x core book value (or BV) and peers like ICICI Bank (valued at 2x BV) is expected to narrow.
Some of the leading life insurance companies have reported a sharp decline in the number of lives covered in FY25, largely due to a slowdown in credit-linked life insurance policies. Stress in the microfinance segment has reduced loan disbursements and, in turn, the flow of new customers to insurers.
'There has been a change in the advances mix, with the share of corporate loans decreasing.'
