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Claim Ledger
Did management answer the analysts?
Every material analyst question, graded on whether management actually answered it — with the verbatim exchange and quantitative claims checked against filed numbers.
67%Questions answered1Evaded / deflected12Questions audited
Partial answer
High priority
What drove the increase in slippages and credit costs this quarter?
Asked by Chintan Joshi, Autonomous Research
Answered broadly but did not specify which products drove slippages or confirm industry trend.
no product-level breakdownattributed to timing
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Question
If you kind of look at what went wrong this quarter, is it mostly lower recoveries, and is that election linked? If you could give us some color around which products specifically led to that increase in slippages and whether this is an industry trend...
Amitabh Chaudhry, Managing Director and CEO
Roughly 55% of the increase in net credit cost has happened because of lower recoveries and upgrades in the corporate loan portfolio. ... We are seeing increase in credit costs across the retail unsecured portfolios...
Partial answer
High priority
What is the NIM outlook excluding interest on tax refund?
Asked by Chintan Joshi, Autonomous Research
Provided core margin compression but declined to give near-term outlook.
no short-term guidancedeferred to structural target
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Question
Could you call out the interest on tax refund element? And excluding that, how should we think about the NIM outlook for the remainder of the year?
Amitabh Chaudhry, Managing Director and CEO; Puneet Sharma, President and CFO
On a core business basis, we've seen a 1 basis point compression in margins... The outlook that I consistently provide is we do not have guidance on margins on an annual basis or the short term. Our structural guidance is 3.80% on a through cycle basis.
Answered
Medium priority
What caused the increase in BB and below rated loans and investments?
Asked by Mahrukh Adajania, Nuvama
Explained the increase was due to MTM and unrated equity, not credit deterioration.
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Question
You called out in the presentation your BB and below has increased by INR 6 billion. Any sector or any vintage of this loan? Because there's an increase in stress investment as well, right?
Amitabh Chaudhry, Managing Director and CEO
On the loans, there is effectively very, very small effect. ... the investment circular forced us to mark to market the investments. ... the BB and below book has moved up. There is nothing that is to be read into those numbers.
Answered
Medium priority
Will the higher investment yield from revaluation be sustained?
Asked by Mahrukh Adajania, Nuvama
Clearly refuted the 10 bps claim and explained the actual impact is negligible.
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Question
Because of the whole revaluation thing for all banks, including yours, the investment yield seems to have moved up by over 10 basis points. So will that be a stabilized yield now, assuming that rates don't change?
Puneet Sharma, President and CFO
The 10 basis points is not true for us. ... the accretion and amortization component ... is amounting to roughly INR 78 crore for us on a first quarter basis. So by no stretch of imagination, does that translate to 10 basis points?
Partial answer
High priority
Why was loan growth driven by corporates while retail/SME was flat?
Asked by Rikin Shah, IIFL Capital
Explained corporate growth but did not directly address why retail/SME was flat.
no explicit explanation for retail/SME flatness
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Question
If you look at sequential growth, the retail and SMEs virtually almost flat, and the bulk of the growth or accretion has come from the corporate in this quarter. So just wanted to understand if there is any change in underlying thought process or strategy.
Rajiv Anand, Deputy Managing Director; Puneet Sharma, President and CFO
We are seeing a reasonable amount of opportunity on the corporate side. ... we will continue to see strong growth there, which is meeting our underwriting standards, it's meeting our pricing standards.
Partial answer
Medium priority
What drove the moderation in non-staff operating expenses?
Asked by Rikin Shah, IIFL Capital
Gave directional guidance but did not specify which OpEx lever was pulled.
no specific lever mentioned
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Question
The second one is pertaining to the non-staff operating expense, which has come off sequentially. So would you be able to share which OpEx lever were you able to pull back in this quarter, and should we think this as a beginning of moderation in the OpEx going ahead?
Amitabh Chaudhry, Managing Director and CEO
You have seen some of that happening in the current quarter. Directionally, what I can indicate on expenses is expenses for last year were growing at the 27%-29% year-on-year growth range. You will see moderation in growth of costs through fiscal 2025.
Partial answer
High priority
Is the higher credit cost the new normal and how to achieve 1.8% ROA?
Asked by Abhishek Murarka, HSBC
Addressed credit cost trajectory but did not explain how ROA target would be met.
no specific ROA lever discussion
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Question
If I sort of back it out, the credit cost would probably fall by around 30 basis points. But even then, we would be a little higher than the averages we were clocking earlier. In light of this, is this like a new normal? And if so, how do we get back to the 1.8% kind of ROA?
Amitabh Chaudhry, Managing Director and CEO; Puneet Sharma, President and CFO
We are very clearly stating that Q1 FY25 annualized number is not indicative of earlier credit costs for us as a franchise. ... we have consistently been saying that credit costs for the system and for us cannot stay at the levels they have in fiscal 2024.
Answered
Medium priority
Is the bank comfortable with LDR above 90% given deposit constraints?
Asked by Kunal Shah, Citigroup
Confirmed they operate within RBI-accepted parameters, implying comfort with current LDR.
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Question
This quarter we are still seeing some expansion in LDR, and that too maybe corporate is something which is driving the growth. So would it be okay to assume in terms of you being comfortable with more than 90-odd% LDRs as well?
Amitabh Chaudhry, Managing Director and CEO
We have gone and submitted our strategy to RBI, which they've accepted, and we are operating within the parameters of the strategy which we have outlined to the regulator. ... It's well within the norms and the parameters.
Partial answer
High priority
Does the slowdown in card sourcing and PL growth signal a shift in loan mix?
Asked by Rahul Jain, Goldman Sachs
Acknowledged calibration but did not directly confirm a strategic shift away from unsecured.
no explicit confirmation of mix shift
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Question
When I try and connect the dots between slowdown in card sourcing this quarter, the slowdown in DPL growth, and the last comment that Amit made about the pickup in unsecured and then therefore pickup in corporate loan growth, what does it imply? Does it imply that the bank would now start changing the loan book mix?
Rajiv Anand, Deputy Managing Director
We keep calibrating our book based on the RAROC that we see on each of the portfolios, and we take action based on what we see in the mix of that book. ... we will continue to change that mix strategically from time to time.
Answered
Medium priority
What caused the 300 bps increase in RWA density?
Asked by Rahul Jain, Goldman Sachs
Provided clear breakdown: operational risk true-up and balance sheet mix change.
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Question
The RWA density this quarter went up by 300 basis points. Can you explain what could be the reason behind it?
Puneet Sharma, President and CFO
The 300 basis points increase in RWA intensity is, as per the capital adequacy circular, operational risk true-up happens in the first quarter of the year. ... nearly 50% of the increase in risk-weighted assets is ops risk.
Evasive
Medium priority
What is the retention ratio and cost-to-asset outlook post Citi integration?
Asked by Anand Dama, Emkay Global
Refused to provide quantitative retention metrics and cost-to-asset guidance.
declined to share specific retention numbersno cost-to-asset guidance
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Question
Now we have completed the Citi integration. Is it possible for us to share what is the retention ratio in terms of number of cards, employees, deposits, loans, and the integration cost? ... How should we see the cost-to-asset ratio moving forward?
Amitabh Chaudhry, Managing Director and CEO; Puneet Sharma, President and CFO
Consistent with the earlier quarters too, we don't share specific numbers, but I can tell you now with the integration successfully behind us that on every metric ... we have met or exceeded that metric. ... We do not offer a cost-to-asset guide.
Answered
High priority
Can the bank step up deposit growth without compromising margins?
Asked by Jai Mundhra, ICICI Securities
Clearly stated they will not compromise margins for deposit growth.
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Question
Between the two, do you see a possibility wherein you can step up on deposit growth or loan growth without compromising too much on the margins, or you think only how do you think between the trade-off between the two?
Puneet Sharma, President and CFO
I don't think that's an equation we are agreeable to or we are working towards. ... picking up incremental deposits just to report higher growth is not what we are philosophically aligned to.