FinanceAsia Country Achievement Awards - India

Best Domestic Commercial Bank HDFC Bank

There were three outstanding submissions from domestic commercial banks: Public Bank in Malaysia, H&CB in Korea, and HDFC Bank. Staffed by ex-Citibankers and headed by the visionary Aditya Puri, HDFC Bank is one of the great growth stories of modern times. Last year, it made net profit of Rs1.2 billion (about $27 million), up 40% on 1998. Its return on equity is 29%, putting it in the same bracket as super-banks like Lloyds-TSB of the UK. With a capital adequacy ratio of 12.19%, and the lowest non-performing assets in the Indian banking industry, not surprisingly this is the bank that analysts love to love.