HDFC Bank lost Rs 50k-cr corporate loans as competitors offered lower rates

Merger-related dispensations separately handled by RBI, says HDFC Bank CFO Srinivasan Vaidyanathan

HDFC Bank, the country’s largest private-sector lender, lost to competition wholesale loans of around Rs 50,000 crore after it increased interest rates in May, said Chief Financial Officer Srinivasan Vaidyanathan in an analyst call.

“There were some customers who were offered lower rates by other market participants. But we decided not to cut back on our rates,” he said on Saturday, addressing analysts after the announcement of the bank’s Q1 earnings.

Credit growth has risen with economic activities picking up in the past few months. According to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, for the fortnight ended July