Morgan Stanley used the India Investment Forum 2026 as a platform to identify its preferred names within the countryast-growing private banking sector and to hear directly from senior bank executives about strategic priorities heading into the new fiscal cycle. Executives from four major private sector lenders presented their views on loan growth, pricing power across segments, deposit tactics and asset quality management.
The conversations held at the forum ranged over several operational and balance-sheet themes that will shape performance in the near term, including the trajectory of loan growth, expectations for fee-based revenue, approaches to deposit pricing and the outlook for credit deterioration or improvement across different portfolios.
1. HDFC Bank
HDFC Bank management reported robust high-teens loan growth within its SME franchise and expect that momentum to continue.
The bank has also begun to record healthy sequential gains in unsecured consumer lending and anticipates that momentum to persist.
On pricing, executives said corporate banking exhibits limited pricing power amid intense competition, while mortgage lending provides relatively greater pricing leverage given the banks rates sit above public-sector peers.
Management noted that headline system loan growth, particularly within corporate lending, may be slightly overstated at present, attributing this to a shift in bond market demand toward banks, renewed domestic demand for external commercial borrowings and elevated working-capital needs.
2. ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank reported that it is not observing deteriorating competitive intensity in the mortgage market and is seeing an improved pipeline of corporate loans being offered at acceptable rates.
Management expects fee income to show stronger growth in fiscal 2027 compared with fiscal 2026, driven in part by an uptick in credit-card fees.
The bank reiterated its objective to keep operating-cost growth below the pace of revenue expansion. Its medium-term guidance notes a potential moderation in return on assets that stems largely from an assumption of credit-costs normalizing from current low levels.
3. Kotak Mahindra Bank
Kotak Mahindra said its mix of floating-rate loans has risen over the past 12 months, reflecting a higher share of mortgages and a lower share of unsecured lending.
Given a larger proportion of long-tenor loans on the balance sheet and an upward bias in system interest rates, the bank opted to raise deposit pricing only for retail granular deposits at the longer end of the curve.
4. IndusInd Bank
IndusInd Bank expects a gradual improvement in net interest margins over the coming quarters despite continued increases in wholesale deposit costs.
Management said rising loan growth should help further reduce slippage ratios. On the vehicle-finance asset-quality cycle, the bank observed that the industry has not experienced exuberant purchasing in recent years nor significant new-to-segment customer additions, implying a limited risk of an extended downturn in that niche.
Across the sessions, the lenders emphasized a focus on balancing growth with asset quality, managing deposit-cost pressures selectively, and seeking fee income expansion as a meaningful contribution to revenue growth. The detailed remarks give investors and market observers a clearer view of how each institution plans to navigate pricing competitiveness, funding costs and the normalization of credit costs.