HDFC Bank delivered the biggest profit, Axis Bank the fastest earnings growth and ICICI Bank the strongest core income and margin performance as asset quality improved across all three lenders.
India’s three largest private-sector lenders delivered a mixed set of second-quarter results on Saturday, with each bank leading on at least one closely watched measure. HDFC Bank posted the biggest absolute profit, Axis Bank produced the fastest growth in earnings, and ICICI Bank combined the strongest core income growth with the best margin performance.
HDFC Bank, the country’s largest private lender, reported standalone net profit of Rs 19,510 crore for the quarter ended September 2026, up 4.7% from a year earlier. The slower pace reflected weaker trading income, as treasury gains fell to Rs 780 crore from Rs 2,390 crore a year earlier. The bank said profit excluding treasury gains increased by about 12.6%, underlining stronger underlying operating performance than the headline number suggested.
ICICI Bank delivered the strongest growth in core income among the three, with net interest income rising 17.7% to Rs 25,339 crore. Net profit climbed 20.1% to Rs 14,843 crore, helped by stronger lending income even though the bank booked a treasury loss of Rs 230 crore. Axis Bank’s net profit rose 37.6% to Rs 7,003 crore, but that sharp increase was flattered by a low comparison base after a one-time provision in the year-earlier quarter. Its provisions dropped 52% year on year to Rs 1,694 crore.
On profitability, ICICI Bank again came out ahead. Its net interest margin, a key gauge of lending profitability, was 4.18%, although that was lower than both the previous quarter and the same period a year earlier. Axis Bank’s margin slipped the most, to 3.36%, after a fall linked in part to foreign-currency deposits under the Reserve Bank of India’s FCNR(B) swap window. HDFC Bank reported a net interest margin of 3.32% on interest-earning assets, or 3.16% on total assets.
Asset quality improved across the board, with all three banks reporting lower bad-loan ratios. HDFC Bank had the lowest gross non-performing asset ratio at 1.11%, down from 1.17% in June, while its net NPA ratio eased to 0.37%. Axis Bank’s gross NPA ratio fell to 1.16% from 1.28%, and ICICI Bank’s dropped to 1.20% from 1.38%. ICICI Bank also set aside the least for possible loan losses, with provisions of Rs 851 crore, compared with Rs 1,694 crore at Axis Bank and Rs 3,574 crore at HDFC Bank.
Loan and deposit growth were also lifted by the FCNR(B) window. ICICI Bank said deposits rose 27.1% and loans increased 30%, while Axis Bank reported 21% deposit growth and 23% growth in advances after accounting for the effect. HDFC Bank’s gross advances increased 16.3%, and deposits climbed 18.8%, rounding out a quarter in which all three lenders expanded, but in different ways and at different speeds.
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