India Inc is returning to banks for money, but retail borrowers aren’t keeping pace

Corporate lending drove Q1 credit growth at major private banks while retail remained subdued. Axis Bank's loan book grew 19% year-on-year on a 37.5% jump in corporate loans, though retail rose only 8%. HDFC Bank posted 15.6% advances growth with retail up just 7.2% and an elevated 95.8% LDR flagged as a constraint, while ICICI Bank stood out with 12% retail growth and 2.7% sequential rise. Analysts at Equirus, Nomura and Anand Rathi noted that while retail disbursements are improving, the outstanding retail book has yet to see a broad-based acceleration, leaving the mix-shift toward corporate and SME as the swing factor this quarter.