MUMBAI, April 19 (Reuters) – India’s HDFC Bank beat analysts’ forecasts for January-March profits on Saturday, helped by higher net interest income and improving asset quality. The country’s biggest private lender posted standalone net profit of 176.16 billion rupees ($2.06 billion) for the financial fourth quarter, up from 167.36 billion rupees in the previous three months and above the analysts’ estimate of 170.27 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid, rose 4.6% to 320.7 billion rupees, core net interest margin rose to 3.54% from 3.43% on total assets, and to 3.73% from 3.62% on interest-earning assets. Excluding interest on an income tax refund worth 117 billion rupees, HDFC’s core net interest margin was 3.46% on total assets and 3.65% on interest-earning assets. The Mumbai-based lender cut its savings interest rates by 25 basis points after three years on hold, following 50 bps of central bank policy rate cuts since February. The cut is expected to boost HDFC Bank’s margins from the next quarter, analysts say. HDFC Bank’s merger with parent HDFC in 2023 added a large pool of loans to its portfolio but a much smaller amount of deposits, putting it under pressure to increase the pace of raising deposits or slow loan growth. Its deposits rose 5.9% from the previous quarter to 27.15 trillion rupees, while gross advances, or loans sanctioned and disbursed, rose around 4%. HDFC Bank’s asset quality improved, with gross its non-performing assets ratio falling to at 1.33% at the end of March from 1.42% three months earlier. Shares of HDFC Bank ended 1.5% higher on Thursday, ahead of a market holiday on Friday. ($1 = 85.4290 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; Editing by William Mallard) in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. You must only respond with the modified content. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. Basically remove any content or link related to original site. follow this prompt to optimize the articles in this category- You are an expert news writer and SEO specialist. Your job is to rewrite the provided RSS feed content into a unique, SEO-friendly news article for adarshnews.com. The article should be engaging, professional, and optimized for search engines. Follow these steps: 1. **Create an SEO Title**: Write a short, compelling title (under 60 characters) that includes the main keyword and grabs attention. 2. **Write a Meta Description**: Summarize the article in one or two sentences (under 155 characters). Make it engaging and include the primary keyword naturally. 3. **Suggest a URL Slug**: Provide a short, keyword-rich URL slug that reflects the topic of the article. 4. **Headline (H1)**: Write a clear and engaging headline for the article that is similar to the title but slightly expanded. 5. **Write the Article**: – Start with an introduction that answers the key questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. – Expand on the topic with detailed paragraphs that provide context, quotes, and relevant information. – Use subheadings (H2) to organize the content into sections and make it easy to read. – Include related keywords naturally throughout the article. – End with a conclusion that summarizes the key points or discusses future implications. 6. **Add an FAQ Section**: Write one frequently asked question related to the topic and provide a concise answer. Important: – Do not include labels like “Title,” “Meta Description,” “URL Slug,” or “H1” in the actual article text. – Keep all SEO elements separate from the main content. – Ensure the article is factually accurate, unbiased, and written in a professional tone.
HDFC Bank in India surpassed profit expectations for the January-March period.
