India’s HDFC Bank posts 4.9% sequential growth in loan book, rejigs management

MUMBAI, Oct 4 (Reuters) – India’s HDFC Bank (HDBK.NS) said on Wednesday its gross loans grew 4.9% sequentially in the July-September quarter to about 23.55 trillion rupees ($283 billion), on a like-to-like basis, after its merger with parent Housing Development Finance Corp.

HDFC Bank merged with HDFC on July 1 in a $40 billion deal, the largest in India’s corporate history.

The combined entity’s pro-forma merged advances increased by 1.10 trillion rupees during the July-September quarter, from 22.44 trillion rupees as of June 30, it said.

Deposits aggregated to about 21.73 trillion rupees at the end of the latest quarter, having risen around 1.09 trillion, or 5.3%, from the end of the previous quarter.

The bank’s home loan disbursals stood at a record high of 480 billion rupees, registering a growth of 14% sequentially, and 10.5% year-on-year, the lender said.

MANAGEMENT REJIG

The bank, which warned of pressure on its margins and bad loans following the impact of the merger, has also announced a management rejig to focus on its growing branch network and its mortgage book, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Ashish Parthasarthy, the bank’s long-term treasurer, will now have oversight of branch banking, the person said, declining to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Two other senior executives – Smita Bhagat and Sampath Kumar – will have regional responsibilities within the branch banking division, this person added.

As of June-end, the bank had 7,860 branches.

Alongside, the mortgage business will now be handled by Arvind Kapila, while the erstwhile HDFC Ltd’s non-retail real estate loans will be under Kaizad Bharucha, who manages wholesale banking, the person said.

The changes are intended to “bring in a very sharp focus on leveraging what we have built and for enhanced execution,” CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan wrote in an internal memo reviewed by Reuters.

HDFC Bank did not immediately respond to an email.
($1 = 83.2247 Indian rupees)

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