HDFC Bank & ICICI Results Out: Who is winning?
Lets find out who is winning the battle - Q3FY26 numbers
In 2020, I had to pick one of the two options for my top bet in the financial sector - ICICI or HDFC Bank. Back then, HDFC Bank was a better pick. For the first year or so, HDFC Bank delivered over 50% returns. However, the story has been different since then. For N number of factors, the stock price is not moving.
I continue to track ICICI Bank results and the stock price to evaluate if I made the wrong choice. Let me look at the results of both banks and how they have performed.
Update 19 Jan: HDFC Bank share opened 0.25% lower and was trading around 928 per share. The brokerage house Nuvama has maintained a BUY rating on the bank. The brokerage has set a target price of Rs 1,170. This implies upside potential of 25% from current levels.
Bernstein, which has a more cautious stance, retained its Market Perform rating with a target price of Rs 1,550 per share.
ICICI Bank fell 3% post the result. CLSA reiterated its Outperform rating on ICICI Bank with a target price of Rs 1,700 per share, implying an upside of over 20%. Jefferies maintained its Buy rating and raised its target price to Rs 1,730 per share, attributing the Q3 earnings miss to higher agricultural provisions and labour law-related costs.
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HDFC Bank Q3FY26 Result
The bank delivered a solid performance in the December 2025 quarter. Net revenue rose 8.9% year-on-year to Rs 45,870 crore, compared with Rs 42,110 crore in the same quarter last year.
Net interest income (NII) also showed healthy growth, increasing 6.4% YoY to Rs 32,620 crore, up from Rs 30,650 crore in Q3FY25.
Margins remained stable, with core net interest margin at 3.35% on total assets and 3.51% on interest-earning assets, indicating sustained profitability despite a challenging rate environment.
Profit Growth Remains Strong
The bank reported a healthy profitability performance in the December 2025 quarter. Profit before tax (PBT) stood at Rs 24,260 crore, while profit after tax (PAT) came in at Rs 18,650 crore, marking a strong 11.5% year-on-year growth compared with the December 2024 quarter.
Balance Sheet Continues to Expand
As of December 31, 2025, the bank’s total balance sheet size increased to Rs 40,89,000 crore, up from Rs 37,59,000 crore a year earlier, reflecting steady balance-sheet expansion.
Deposit Momentum Stays Healthy
Average deposits for the December 2025 quarter rose 12.2% YoY to Rs 27,52,400 crore, compared with Rs 24,52,800 crore in the December 2024 quarter. On a sequential basis, deposits grew 1.5% from Rs 27,10,500 crore in the September 2025 quarter.
Average CASA deposits also showed healthy traction, rising 9.9% YoY to Rs 8,98,400 crore, up from Rs 8,17,600 crore last year, and 2.4% QoQ from Rs 8,77,000 crore in September 2025.
Deposits Growth and CASA Mix
The bank continued to see healthy traction in low-cost deposits. CASA deposits grew 10.1% year-on-year, led by steady growth in both savings and current accounts.
Savings account deposits stood at Rs 6,61,700 crore
Current account deposits were at Rs 2,99,500 crore
Time deposits rose 12.3% YoY to Rs 18,98,900 crore as of December 31, 2025. As a result, CASA deposits accounted for 33.6% of total deposits, reflecting a stable funding profile.
Strong Capital Position
The bank’s capital position remains comfortable and well above regulatory requirements.
Total Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) under Basel III stood at 19.9% as of December 31, 2025, compared with 20.0% a year ago
This is significantly higher than the regulatory requirement of 11.9%
Tier 1 CAR was 17.8%
Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio stood at 17.4%
Risk-weighted assets were at Rs 28,80,800 crore, supporting future growth headroom.
Asset Quality Remains Stable
Asset quality remained stable during the quarter.
Gross NPAs were 1.24% of gross advances as of December 31, 2025
0.97% excluding agricultural NPAs
This compares with 1.24% in September 2025 and 1.42% in December 2024
Net NPAs were contained at 0.42% of net advances
Overall, the bank continues to maintain strong asset quality with controlled stress levels.
ICICI Bank Q3FY26 Result
ICICI reported a 4% year-on-year decline in standalone net profit for the December quarter, weighed down by a sharp rise in provisions, even as core operating performance remained stable and asset quality improved.
The bank posted a standalone net profit of Rs 11,317.9 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 (Q3 FY26), compared with Rs 11,792.4 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Net interest income (NII) increased 7.7% year-on-year to Rs 21,932 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 20,371 crore in Q3 FY25, while net interest margin was 4.30% in the quarter, compared with 4.25% in the year-ago period and 4.30% in Q2FY26, the bank said in a statement filed with the stock exchanges.
ICICI Bank Result: Deposits
Average deposits grew by 8.7% y-o-y and 1.8% q-o-q in Q3-2026.
Average current and savings account deposits grew by 8.9% y-o-y and 1.5% q-o-q in Q3-2026.
Period end total deposits grew by 9.2% y-o-y and 2.9% q-o-q at Dec 31, 2025
Advances
Domestic loans grew by 11.5% y-o-y and 4.0% q-o-q
Retail loans grew by 7.2% y-o-y and 1.9% q-o-q
Business banking1 portfolio grew by 22.8% y-o-y and 4.7% q-o-q
Domestic corporate portfolio grew by 5.6% y-o-y and 6.5% q-o-q
Asset Quality
Net additions of Rs 20.74 bn to gross NPAs in Q3-2026 (Q3-2025: ₹ 26.93 bn). Net NPA ratio was 0.37% at Dec 31, 2025 (Sep 30, 2025: 0.39%).
Provision coverage ratio was 75.4% at Dec 31, 2025 (Sep 30, 2025: 75.0%).
Standard, contingency, and other provisions of Rs 226.57 bn (1.5% of advances) at Dec 31, 2025. Contingency provisions of ₹ 131.00 bn at Dec 31, 2025.
Excludes additional standard asset provision of Rs 12.83 bn made pursuant to RBI’s annual supervisory review
Check Yes Bank & RBL Bank Result too!
Before You Go
Overall, HDFC Bank reported above the estimated results, while ICICI Bank's results were below the estimates - a change of events if we look at the previous quarter numbers.
Will update this section once brokerages provide their revised targets, so you can come back again.
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