HDFC Bank Q3 net profit up 30% at Rs 1,859 cr

Sukhtankar said the asset quality is under control and the GNPA ratio is still below the peak seen during the year ago period. He said on a y-o-y basis, the restructured book has come down to 0.28 per cent from 0.37 per cent.

The lender added around Rs 300 crore to its NPAs during the quarter under review and Sukhtankar said a majority 85 per cent of this came from retail products, including commercial vehicle and construction equipment finance.

Unsecured products like credit cards and personal loans did not have major delinquencies, Sukhtankar added.

Sukhtankar said retail assets led the credit growth and expected the trend to continue into the future as well.

During the quarter, it bought Rs 1,000 crore of housing loans from its parent HDFC, he said.

Sukhtankar said he hopes the RBI will cut its key lending rate, the repo, by 0.25 per cent during the January 29 monetary policy announcement and also compliment it with an equal cut in cash reserve ratio to boost liquidity.

Banks will be in a position to cut deposit rates only if the two conditions are met, which will gradually translate into a cut in lending rates, he maintained.

Overnight borrowings by banks have to come down to up to Rs 50,000 crore from the current range of around Rs 1,00,000 crore for the banks to be comfortable and act on rates, he said.

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