HDFC Bank May Begin Listing Process Of HDB Financial Soon, Says CFO Vaidyanathan

HDFC Bank Ltd. will commence the process of listing its non-banking financial company, HDB Financial Services, soon, according to Chief Financial Officer Srinivasan Vaidyanathan.

"The listing requirement of the IPO is to be in September 2025, and we expect in the next few months to commence the activity around that so that we have as much flexibility as we can to be in the market at the right time," Vaidyanathan said in the post-earnings analyst call.

As of Dec. 31, the bank holds a 94.7% stake in HDB Financial Services. Its total loan book grew 29% year-on-year and 8% sequentially to Rs 84,000 crore in the December quarter. The non-deposit-taking NBFC's net profit rose 27% year-on-year to Rs 640 crore in the reporting quarter. The net interest margin stood at 7.7%.

Further, gross stage 3 loans were at 2.25%, improving from 3.73% a year ago. As of Dec. 31, the total capital adequacy ratio of HDB Financial Services was 18%, with Tier-I capital at 14.5%.

The lender has not yet filed the required documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for listing approval, Vaidyanathan said.

This comes more than a year after Sashidhar Jagdishan, chief executive officer of HDFC Bank, said in July 2022 that the IPO plans for HDFC Securities and HDB Financial Services will depend on the merger process.

HDB Financial Services added 16 branches during the quarter ended December, taking the total branches in the country to 1,618. It services 14.6 million customers through these branches across 1,125 cities.