desk
Share
News Topical, Digital Desk : With the end of the March quarter (Q4 FY26) of the financial year 2025-26, major banks have released their business updates (provisional figures). These figures clearly indicate a fierce competition for credit growth in the banking sector. However, to disburse loans, banks equally need customer deposits. Let's use these figures to understand which bank customers trust the most and which is ahead in the loan distribution race.
Is HDFC Bank leading in terms of customer deposits?
HDFC Bank, the country's second-largest lender, emerged as the largest player in terms of total deposits . However, smaller banks also performed well when it came to percentage growth. The total deposits of banks and their growth rates as of the March 2026 quarter were as follows.
- HDFC Bank: Total deposits grew 14.4% to ₹31.05 lakh crore (last year it was ₹27.14 lakh crore).
- Kotak Mahindra Bank: Deposits jumped 14.7% to ₹5.72 lakh crore.
- IDBI Bank: Deposits of LIC-controlled IDBI Bank increased by 12% to ₹3.46 lakh crore.
- Yes Bank: Customer confidence in this bank also remained intact. Its deposits increased by 12.1% to ₹3.18 lakh crore.
- AU Small Finance Bank: Recorded the fastest growth in percentage terms at 22.8% and total deposits reached ₹1.52 lakh crore.
Which bank won the race to distribute loans?
The most important thing about the fourth quarter data was that the pace of loan disbursement in IDBI, Kotak and AU Small Finance Bank was more than the pace of deposits coming into them.
- AU Small Finance Bank: Lending growth was the top priority, with loans rising 25.1% to ₹1.36 lakh crore.
- Kotak Mahindra Bank: Kotak Mahindra Bank 's loan grew by 16.2% to ₹4.95 lakh crore.
- IDBI Bank: Loan disbursements registered a robust growth of 16% to reach ₹2.53 lakh crore.
- HDFC Bank: The country's leading bank saw a steady growth of 12% in loans, taking total advances to ₹29.6 lakh crore.
- Yes Bank: The bank reported a 10.7% year-on-year growth in loan disbursements (up 5.8% from the previous quarter), taking total loans to ₹2.72 lakh crore.
How good were these figures for Yes Bank?
According to Yes Bank 's stock market filings, the bank's financial position and profit margins are improving. The bank's CASA (current and savings account) stood at ₹1.11 lakh crore (an increase of 14.9% year-on-year). The CASA ratio in total deposits has increased to 35.1%, which bodes well for the bank's profit margins.
The bank's liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) stood at 119.0%. A ratio above 100% is considered safe, meaning the bank is prepared to handle any emergency. The credit-to-deposit ratio declined to 85.4%. This means the bank raised deposits faster than it disbursed loans this quarter.
Are banks finding it difficult to raise cheap funds (CASA)?
The cheapest source of funds for banks comes from current and savings accounts (CASA) because they pay little or no interest on these. HDFC Bank's CASA deposits grew by 12.3% to ₹10.6 lakh crore. However, the bank's fixed deposits (time deposits) grew by a much larger 15.5% to ₹20.45 lakh crore. This indicates that customers are increasingly attracted to fixed deposits due to higher interest rates.
On the other hand, in the case of AU Small Finance Bank, the impact was visible and the proportion of low-cost CASA declined from 29.2% last year to 28.4% this time.
Thus, these preliminary figures for March 2026 indicate that the banking sector is growing rapidly. While HDFC Bank leads in deposits and loans due to its sheer size (volume), banks like AU Small Finance and Kotak are aggressively expanding their businesses with percentage growth. Yes Bank's numbers indicate stability and security. The true picture will become clearer once the banks' final and audited results are released.
Read More: Share Market News: Sensex jumps 4200 points in 1 week, eight big companies gain Rs 4.13 lakh crore
--Advertisement--
