HDFC Bank slips over 3% after Q1 business update; should you worry?

HDFC Bank's share price: Shares of HDFC Bank slipped as much as 3.38 per cent to Rs 1,670.05 apiece on the BSE on Wednesday, a day after the lender released its business update for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 (Q1FY24). The stock ended at Rs 1,673.30 on the BSE, down 3.20 per cent.

In its Q1 business update, the private-sector lender announced the following:

• The bank’s advances aggregated to approximately Rs 16,155 billion as of June 30, 2023, a growth of around 15.8 per cent over Rs 13,951 billion as of June 30, 2022, and a growth of around 0.9 per cent over Rs 16,006 billion as of March 31, 2023. Gross of transfers through inter-bank participation certificates and bills rediscounted, the bank’s advances grew by around 20.2 per cent over June 30, 2022, and around 1.9 per cent over March 31, 2023.
• Further, the bank’s deposits aggregated to approximately Rs 19,130 billion as of June 30, 2023, a growth of around 19.2 per cent over Rs 16,048 billion as of June 30, 2022, and a growth of around 1.6 per cent over Rs 18,834 billion as of March 31, 2023.
• HDFC Bank's CASA deposits aggregated to approximately Rs 8,130 billion as of June 30, 2023, a growth of around 10.7 per cent over Rs 7,346 billion as of June 30, 2022, and were lower by around 2.7 per cent over Rs 8,360 billion as of March 31, 2023.
• Retail CASA grew by around 11 per cent over June 30, 2022, and was lower by around 2 per cent over March 31, 2023. The Bank’s CASA ratio stood at around 42.5 per cent as of June 30, 2023, as compared to 45.8 per cent as of June 30, 2022, and 44.4 per cent as of March 31, 2023.

Shares of HDFC, too, ended at Rs 2,796.40, down 2.93 per cent. The stock is set to get delisted on July 13 as the merger of HDFC Bank and HDFC is completed. 

Further, the lender also reported business updates for the merged HDFC Bank. They are as below: 

• The Merged entity’s gross advances aggregated to approximately Rs 22,450 billion as of June 30, 2023, a growth of around 13.1% over Rs 19,859 billion as of June 30, 2022, and a growth of around 0.7% over Rs 22,302 billion as of March 31, 2023.
• The Merged entity’s gross advances, excluding wholesale advances of HDFC Ltd, aggregated to approximately Rs 21,365 billion as of June 30, 2023, a growth of around 15.3% over Rs 18,522 billion as of June 30, 2022, and a growth of around 1.3 per cent over Rs 21,097 billion as of March 31, 2023.
• The Merged entity’s deposits aggregated to approximately Rs 20,635 billion as of June 30, 2023, a growth of around 16.2% over Rs 17,760 billion as of June 30, 2022, and a growth of 1.2% over Rs 20,394 billion as of March 31, 2023.
• The Merged entity's average LCR for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, was around 120% on a pro forma basis.

Liquidity Cover Ratio (LCR) requires a bank to maintain a certain stock of High-Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA) to help it weather a stressful period, for example, the financial crisis of 2008.

HDFC BANK Q1 UPDATE: WHAT ANALYSTS SAY

InCred Equities said HDFC Bank's loan growth looks low on a QoQ basis due to a marginal decline in corporate loan book (11% yoy/-1% qoq), and HDFC Bank (merged) also looks low due to weak wholesale loan growth.

"We also need to highlight that HDFC Ltd books were closed a few days earlier to facilitate the merger," the brokerage added. 

It said it expects systemic credit growth to remain sporadic; however, HDFC Bank will benefit from deeper penetration led by branch expansion. "With the merger overhang already over and business disruption happened in 1QFY24, we expect HDFC Bank to outperform most banking peers on growth and margin parameters."

The brokerage has maintained an 'Add' rating on HDFC Bank with a target price of Rs 2,000.

HDFC-HDFC BANK MERGER

The merger between HDFC Bank and HDFC was officially completed on July 1, 2023. Termed the biggest transaction in the history of India Inc, HDFC Bank on April 4, 2022, agreed to take over its parent, which is the largest pure-play mortgage lender, in a $40-billion all-stock deal, creating a financial services titan with a combined asset of over Rs 18 lakh crore. READ MORE