HDFC Bank targets more than 20% loan surge

Improving business and consumer confidence in economy helped lender meet its Q1 forecast.

HDFC Bank, India's No. 2 private sector lender, reported its strongest profit growth in more than a year, and highlighted more gains for the booming industry on robust loan demand.

HDFC Bank and its bigger rivals State Bank of India and ICICI Bank are benefiting from improving business and consumer confidence in an economy set to grow about 8.5 per cent in the year that began in April. "The signs of core loan growth are clearly visible in the strong earnings of the top banks and we see this picking up in the coming quarters," said KK Mital, head of portfolio management services at Globe Capital.

HDFC Bank matched analysts estimates with a 34 per cent rise in April-June net profit as companies and consumers take advantage of a fast-growing economy. The bank expects strong demand from mortgage borrowers and improving asset quality to help it exceed the sector's 20 per cent credit growth estimated in the year ending March 2011.

View the full story in the Economic Times.