Preview: BUZZ-Strong loan growth to aid top Indian private lenders' Q1 profit, analysts say
PREVIEW- BUZZ-Strong loan growth to aid top Indian private lenders' Q1 profit, analysts say ** Top four Indian private lenders HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, ICICI Bank ICBK.NS, Axis Bank AXBK.NS and Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS are set to report Q1 results on Saturday
** On Friday, HDBK up 1.5%, ICBK gains 1.4%, AXBK rises 1.6% and KTKM advances nearly 3%
** Indian lenders saw strong loan growth during Q1, helped by rising corporate borrowing and resilient demand for retail credit, pre-results updates showed
** Analysts expect HDFC Bank to report a 4% y/y rise in Q1 profit, while Axis Bank may see profit growth of 13% - data compiled by LSEG
** Motilal Oswal sees double-digit net interest income growth for ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra, with profit rising 3.1% and 19.5%, respectively
** While asset quality will remain largely stable, analysts say Axis Bank may see seasonally higher slippages on agri loans
** ICICI Securities said net interest margin could remain under pressure amid elevated bulk deposit costs
** YTD, AXBK up 4.5%, ICBK up 7%, while HDBK and KTKM are down 17% and 11%, respectively
(Reporting by Nishit Navin in Bengaluru)