HDFC Bank (US:HDB) The Economic Times·2026-01-05 07:09Core Insights - Loan growth in India has rebounded strongly after a slowdown in mid-2025, driven by festive spending and government tax cuts [1][7] - The Nifty Bank index has increased by over 10% since October, outperforming the benchmark Nifty 50, which rose by 7% [5][7] Loan Growth Trends - Bank credit growth decelerated to 9.9% year-on-year in the quarter ending June, down from 11.1% in March, but rebounded to 11.5% in November [1][7] - HDFC Bank reported an 11.9% year-on-year increase in gross loans for the December quarter, surpassing previous quarters' growth rates [7] - Bank of Baroda experienced a 14.6% year-on-year rise in global advances as of the December quarter-end, up from 12.6% in June [7] - Smaller banks like CSB Bank and AU Small Finance Bank reported significant loan growth of 29% and 24% year-on-year, respectively [7] Credit Market Dynamics - Overall systemic credit growth improved to 11.4% year-on-year, recovering from a low of about 9% in May 2025 [2][7] - Secured gold loans and vehicle financing are identified as key growth drivers within retail credit [2][7] Deposit Growth Concerns - Despite rising loan growth, deposit growth has not kept pace, leading to a widening gap between loan and deposit growth [6][7] - The loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) has reached an all-time high of 81.6%, indicating potential pressure on banks to either increase deposits or manage loan growth [6][7]