HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank post profit growth of over 8% in Q4 FY26; key metrics

India's top private sector lenders have posted robust earnings growth in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2025-26 (Q4FY26).

The country's largest and second-largest private lenders, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, reported a net profit growth of 9% and 8%, respectively. Meanwhile, the country's fourth-largest bank by market capitalisation, Kotak Mahindra Bank, reported net profit growth of 13% at the end of the March quarter.

All three banks reported a reduction in provisions for bad loans, an uptick in net interest income (NII), and an improvement in asset quality at the end of the March quarter.

Profit momentum continues

HDFC Bank reported a net profit of ₹19,221 crore in the quarter ended March 31, marking an increase of 9% from ₹17,616 crore in the same period last year.

For the financial year 2025-26, HDFC Bank's net profit advanced 11% to ₹74,671 crore compared with ₹67,347 crore in the previous financial year.

ICICI Bank recorded over an 8% jump in its Q4 net profit to ₹13,701 crore, compared to ₹12,629 crore in the same period a year ago.

Kotak Mahindra Bank said that it earned a net profit of ₹4,027 crore in the January-March quarter, marking an increase of 13% from ₹3,552 crore in the same period last year. The uptick in profit came on the back of sharply lower provisions for bad loans and an improvement in asset quality.

Lower provisions boost bottom line

The bank's provisions for bad loans reduced by 43% to ₹516 crore as against ₹909 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last financial year.

Asset quality improves

The top private lenders reported an improvement in asset quality and a steady rise in the net interest income.

HDFC Bank's NII is 3.2% to ₹33,082 crore from ₹32,066 crore in the year-ago period.

Its net interest margin (NIM) came in at 3.38% on total assets and 3.53% based on interest-earning assets.

HDFC Bank’s asset quality improved in the March quarter as its gross non-performing assets, as a percentage of total advances, came in at 1.15% compared with 1.33% in the year-ago period.

In absolute terms, gross non-performing assets came in at ₹34,061 crore compared with 35,223 crore.

ICICI Bank's NII for the fourth quarter rose by 1.99% to ₹43,275 crore from ₹42,430 crore in the same period a year earlier.

ICICI Bank’s non-performing assets (NPA) dropped 27 basis points to 1.40% as of the end of the March quarter of FY2025-26, compared to 1.67% in the same period a year ago, according to the filings.

The data also showed that the second largest lender’s provisioning for bad debt allocation witnessed an 89% fall to ₹96 crore in the fourth quarter, compared year-on-year with ₹891 crore in the previous fiscal year, showing the reduction in expectations of bad debts ahead.

Kotak Mahindra Bank's NII rose 8% to ₹7,875 crore in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2025-26, up from ₹7,284 crore in the year-ago period.

Net interest margin was 4.67% for Q4 FY26 compared with 4.97% for Q4 FY25 and 4.54% for Q4 FY24.

Kotak Mahindra Bank's asset quality showed an improvement as its gross non-performing assets (NPAs), as a percentage of total advances, came in at 1.20% compared with 1.42% in the same period last year.

In absolute terms, gross NPAs came in at ₹6,018 crore from ₹6,134 crore.