HDFC Bank sees base rate in 6.75-8% range

HDFC Bank, India's No 2 private sector lender, expects most players in the banking sector to fix the base rate between 6.75 and 8%, a senior official said on Tuesday.                                          

Paresh Sukthankar, executive director of HDFC Bank also said the bank does not see any major impact of the new rate on profitability.                                            

The bank expects credit growth in 2010-11 to grow "little faster" than the sector's 20% growth, Sukthankar told reporters.
Improving business and consumer confidence is bringing back credit demand from corporates and mortgage borrowers in Asia's third-largest economy, boosting the earnings of lenders such as HDFC Bank and its bigger rival ICICI Bank.