In the March quarter, HDFC Bank, India's largest private sector lender, emerged as the only major bank to achieve a 14.4% growth in deposits, surpassing its 12% loan growth. This performance contrasts with other banks that struggled to keep pace, with Bank of Baroda reporting 12% in deposits and 16.2% in loans. The overall deposit growth across the banking sector remained stable at 10.8%, but the increasing credit-deposit ratio, now at 83%, indicates a surge in loan demand. Analysts from Motilal Oswal project a robust credit growth rate of 13.5% year-on-year for FY27, despite concerns about economic impacts from global events, such as the ongoing war in West Asia. The report highlights challenges banks face in attracting low-cost deposits, with many institutions experiencing a widening gap between deposit and credit growth. For example, IDFC First Bank and Bandhan Bank both saw significant shifts in their deposit growth relative to their credit growth in the last quarter. Overall, while banks face intense competition for deposits, the momentum in credit demand remains strong, bolstered by retail lending and corporate borrowing.