By Siddhi Nayak
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Bank of Baroda, India’s third-largest state-run lender by assets, aims to double its balance sheet in five years while gaining market share and curtailing costs, its chief executive said on Friday.
“This is a very realistic target,” Debadatta Chand said in an interview in Mumbai. “In the process, we have to ensure that we do not lose out on the market share (in loans).”
The size of Bank of Baroda’s consolidated balance sheet, or the total of the capital, assets and liabilities of the lender and its units, rose 11.5% on-year to 17.91 trillion rupees ($206.76 billion) at the end of 2024.
Loans given by Indian banks have grown at double-digit percentages since April 2022, largely led by retail loans. However, deposit growth has lagged, forcing lenders to either slow their loan growth or raise more deposits.
Bank of Baroda hopes to open about 500 new branches over the next two years, specifically targeting “micro markets”, Chand said, which should help it raise more deposits and disburse loans.
Chand said the bank seeks to quicken loan growth to 13%-15% in the fiscal year 2025-26, against the 11-13% increase it expects in 2024-25, if easier monetary conditions persist.
This should help it grow the market share in loans to 6% in the coming years from 5.5% currently, the CEO said.
Meanwhile, deposit growth should accelerate to 13% in 2025-26 from an expected 9%-11% this year, with a focus on low-cost current and savings inflows, the CEO said.
HDFC Bank, the country’s biggest private lender, said this month that it aims to achieve industry-matching loan growth next fiscal year, without specifying a number.
Most other lenders have not disclosed their loan and deposit growth targets.
Bank of Baroda will focus on secured retail loans, particularly mortgage and auto, while being cautious on personal loans, the CEO said.
Despite “good traction” for corporate credit, the lender is not looking to chase growth in that segment as it seeks to protect margins, which are expected to be in the range of 3.00% to 3.10% in 2024-25, according to the CEO.
Its net interest margin, a key gauge of a lender’s profitability, edged down to 3.11% in the December quarter from 3.27% in the previous three months.
The bank’s third-quarter net profit rose nearly 6% to 48.37 billion rupees, it said on Thursday.
Shares of the lender are down 11.5% so far in 2025 after rising 4% last year.
($1 = 86.6225 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
