GST boost fuelling growth; private capex showing spark: HDFC Bank

Senior management at HDFC Bank, the country's largest private-sector lender, told investors during non-deal roadshows that they were witnessing strong momentum in economic growth following the rationalisation of goods and services tax (GST) rates.

- SUBRATA PANDA

Early signs of a private-sector capital expenditure pickup are beginning to surface too, with capacity utilisation steadily rising-in some industries now topping 80 per cent after staying in the 70 per cent band for a long time.

The bank's brass has also retained its loan-growth guidance for FY27, saying the lender would expand its loan book at a pace faster than the system. This comes after two years of calibration in loan growth to bring down the bank's stretched credit-deposit (CD) ratio, which had soared to 110 per cent at the time of its merger with HDFC Ltd.

In FY25, the bank allowed its loan book to grow more slowly than the broader system as it concentrated on shoring up the deposit base.