Awards for Excellence 2009: India
Although ICICI, long India’s strongest private-sector bank, managed to look mildly foolish last year, unveiling losses connected to the US sub-prime market, rival HDFC Bank has emerged looking stronger than ever. Driven by chairman Deepak Parekh and chief executive Aditya Puri, a man who enjoys peace and quiet over profits and quarterlies, HDFC posted a 53.1% year-on-year rise in first-quarter 2009 revenues, to Rs53.7 billion ($670 million). It also posted strong gains in net revenues, up 34% year on year in the first three months, to Rs35.1 billion, with net profit also gaining by more than a third over the period, to Rs6.31 billion. The future looks strong, too. Analysts reckon that the State Bank of India’s special concessional rate of 8% on home loans will not provide a threat to the country’s leading mortgage provider. HDFC’s underlying strength is also attracting praise: in a May 5 2009 research note, Macquarie maintained its outperform rating on the bank, noting that HDFC’s "resilient" margins and "robust" loan growth did not hide any concerns about asset quality. Rival ICICI, which was forced to admit to losses during the second half of 2008 as the US housing market unravelled, will certainly look to regain its former market pre-eminence in 2009-10. For now, though, India’s largest provider of home loans is enjoying some well-earned time in the spotlight.
