India’s HDFC ramps up corporate loans

Bloomberg

India’s most-valuable bank is betting big on the nation’s businesses at a time when a slumping economy and souring loans have forced peers to retreat.
HDFC Bank Ltd.’s lending to large and small companies surged 63% over the two years through December 31 as India’s economy went from world-leading growth to its slowest expansion in six years. Behind the aggressive push is Citigroup Inc. veteran Rahul Shukla, who joined just months before the collapse of a major shadow lender in 2018 sent shock waves through markets and squeezed credit to consumers and firms.
Shukla, who heads corporate and business banking, remained undaunted. “We as a bank are not hobbled down by stressed assets, nor do we have capital constraints,” he said in an interview in Mumbai. “This gives us the strength to go out and lend.”
HDFC Bank stands out in India’s struggling financial sector. Its gross bad loan ratio has held steady at around 1.4%, while rivals have been forced to caution by growing stress among once-reputed companies, developers and shadow lenders. While its stock has been caught up in the recent market rout, the bank has weathered the storm better than most and remains the nation’s biggest by market capitalisation. About 38% of its shares are held by foreign investors.
“It will be important to watch how the corporate loan book shapes up, especially the pace of growth and asset quality risks, in a backdrop of slow economic growth,” said Ravikant Bhat, a Mumbai-based analyst at IndiaNivesh Securities Ltd.