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Guide

HDFC Bank vs ICICI Bank vs Axis Bank: Which Quarterly Metrics Should You Compare in Q2 FY27?

By TheFinanceBase Team 11 min read

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Compare HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank in a fixed order: scale and growth, net interest income (NII) and net interest margin (NIM), operating efficiency, profit and returns, asset-quality flows and stocks, capital buffers, and funding mix. For the latest common period—Q2 FY27, ended September 30, 2026—ICICI Bank reports the fastest disclosed deposit and loan growth, while Axis Bank supplies a fuller set of margin, return, slippage and capital details. HDFC Bank’s official archive lists its Q2 FY27 results dated October 17, 2026, but the available extract does not expose all KPI values, so a complete three-bank numeric ranking requires its presentation.

The comparison below keeps amounts in ₹ crore, distinguishes period-end balances from quarterly averages, and shows where a figure is not stated rather than filling the gap with an older quarter.

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Use one reporting frame before comparing any number

Q2 FY27 means the quarter ended September 30, 2026. Put all three banks on the same reporting basis—preferably standalone bank figures for a like-for-like operating comparison, or consolidated figures for a group-level comparison. Do not place a standalone loan book beside a consolidated profit figure.

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ICICI Bank says its board approved both standalone and consolidated accounts for the quarter and that auditors issued an unmodified limited-review report. HDFC Bank’s investor archive lists a Q2 FY27 presentation and financial results dated October 17, 2026. When you download the original presentations, record the basis printed on every page before copying numbers into a worksheet.

  • Period-end measures: deposits, advances, gross and net NPAs, capital ratios and liquidity balances are normally reported as of September 30.
  • Quarterly-flow measures: NII, fee income, operating profit, provisions and net profit cover the three months of the quarter.
  • Average-balance measures: NIM, funding cost and some mix disclosures may use quarterly average assets or liabilities rather than September 30 balances.
  • Growth rates: year-on-year compares Q2 FY27 with Q2 FY26; quarter-on-quarter compares with the June 30, 2026 quarter. Never substitute a year-on-year rate for a sequential rate.

These distinctions matter because a bank can show strong period-end loan growth while its quarterly average earning assets, and therefore its NIM, move differently.

Start with scale, growth and funding quality

Growth is useful only when paired with the funding that supports it. Compare deposits and loans together, then examine CASA (current account and savings account) mix and the retail-versus-corporate composition of the balance sheet.

Q2 FY27 scale and growth metric ICICI Bank Axis Bank HDFC Bank
Deposits at September 30, 2026 ₹20,49,874 crore; up 27.1% year on year ₹14,52,066 crore; up 21% year on year Not stated in the available Q2 FY27 extract; use the September 30 presentation
Loans or advances at September 30, 2026 ₹18,31,580 crore total loan portfolio; up 30.0% year on year ₹13,73,727 crore net advances; up 23% year on year Not stated in the available Q2 FY27 extract
Balance definition Deposit and loan figures are period-end disclosures Deposit and net-advance figures are period-end disclosures Confirm the definition in the Q2 FY27 presentation
CASA and retail/corporate composition Not stated in the supplied Q2 FY27 figures Not stated in the supplied Q2 FY27 figures Retrieve from the official presentation

ICICI’s disclosed balances show a larger franchise and faster year-on-year expansion than Axis on both deposits and loans. That is a starting observation, not a quality judgment: rapid loan growth can improve earnings if underwriting and funding remain sound, but it can also precede higher slippages.

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Check the deposit-to-loan relationship

Calculate loan growth minus deposit growth and monitor the resulting funding gap over several quarters. A widening gap may indicate rising wholesale funding, a falling liquidity cushion or greater competition for deposits. Then inspect CASA growth and deposit cost. A high CASA share generally lowers the average cost of funds, but the direction can change quickly when savings balances migrate or term-deposit rates rise.

Separate retail and corporate expansion

Retail loans, small-business credit and corporate exposures have different pricing, duration and loss behavior. Compare each bank’s disclosed mix and growth rather than treating the total loan portfolio as homogeneous. A bank growing through secured retail lending may show a different risk profile from one expanding in unsecured consumer or large corporate loans.

Rank #2

Test core earnings with NII, NIM and efficiency

NII measures the rupee spread between interest earned and interest paid during the quarter. NIM expresses that spread against average interest-earning assets, usually on an annualized basis. NII can rise simply because the balance sheet is larger; NIM shows whether the economics of each rupee of assets are improving.

Q2 FY27 core-earnings metric ICICI Bank Axis Bank HDFC Bank
NII ₹25,339 crore ₹15,371 crore Not stated in the available extract
NII year-on-year growth 17.7% 12% Not stated
NIM Not stated in the supplied figures 3.36%; 3.47% excluding the FCNR(B) impact Not stated in the available extract
Core operating profit ₹20,805 crore ₹10,998 crore Not stated in the available extract
Core operating-profit year-on-year growth 21.8% 11% Not stated
Fee income and cost-to-income ratio Not stated in the supplied figures Not stated in the supplied figures Retrieve from the Q2 FY27 presentation

ICICI’s NII and core operating profit grew faster than Axis’s disclosed rates, indicating stronger operating momentum in the reported quarter. Axis’s NIM needs a two-column reading: the reported margin and the margin excluding the FCNR(B) effect. FCNR(B) deposits can alter both funding costs and the apparent margin, so do not compare the adjusted Axis figure with another bank’s unadjusted NIM.

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Use operating profit before provisions

Core operating profit isolates the recurring banking engine before provisions and tax. Pair it with the cost-to-income ratio, which is operating expenses divided by operating income. A falling ratio indicates better operating leverage; a rising ratio may reflect investments, branch expansion, technology spending or wage inflation. Ask whether stronger profit comes from genuine income growth or merely from delayed expense recognition.

Normalize NIM definitions

Confirm whether each bank’s NIM uses average domestic assets, average interest-earning assets, or another denominator, and whether it is reported before or after specific funding adjustments. Record the FCNR(B) treatment beside the number. A one-line footnote can explain a large part of an apparent margin gap.

Read profit and returns together

Profit after tax (PAT) is the headline outcome, but it should never stand alone. Compare PAT growth with ROA and ROE, and mark whether the return ratios are annualized. ROA divides annualized profit by average assets; ROE divides annualized profit by average equity. Higher leverage can lift ROE without improving the underlying return on assets.

Q2 FY27 profitability and return metric ICICI Bank Axis Bank HDFC Bank
PAT Not stated in the supplied figures ₹7,003 crore Not stated in the available extract
Standalone ROA Not stated 1.38%; annualization convention should be confirmed in the release Not stated
Standalone ROE Not stated 13.30%; annualization convention should be confirmed in the release Not stated
EPS Not stated in the supplied figures Not stated in the supplied figures Included in HDFC’s published KPI framework; Q2 FY27 value not exposed in the available extract

Axis’s PAT, ROA and ROE provide a complete return snapshot for the quarter. For ICICI and HDFC, obtain the corresponding values before declaring a profitability leader. A bank with faster NII growth can still produce weaker PAT if provisions, operating costs or tax rise faster.

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Bridge operating profit to PAT

Use a bridge with four lines: core operating profit, provisions, exceptional or treasury items, and tax. This shows whether a PAT change is recurring. If provisions fall unusually low, current profit may overstate sustainable earnings even when asset quality appears stable.

Measure asset quality as both a stock and a flow

Gross NPA and net NPA are point-in-time stocks. Gross NPA shows the share of loans classified as non-performing before provisions; net NPA reflects the residual after provisions. Neither tells you how quickly new stress is arriving. Add gross slippages, recoveries, upgrades, write-offs, net credit cost and restructured or otherwise stressed loans.

Q2 FY27 asset-quality metric ICICI Bank Axis Bank HDFC Bank
Gross NPA at September 30, 2026 1.20% 1.16% Not stated in the available extract
Net NPA at September 30, 2026 0.30% 0.35% Not stated in the available extract
Provision coverage ratio (PCR) Not stated in the supplied figures 70% Not stated
Gross annualized slippage ratio Not stated in the supplied figures 1.48% Not stated
Net credit cost Not stated in the supplied figures 0.45% Not stated
Restructured or stressed loans Not stated in the supplied figures Not stated in the supplied figures Retrieve from the Q2 FY27 presentation

Axis reports a slightly lower gross NPA but a higher net NPA than ICICI in the disclosed quarter. That combination makes PCR and write-off policy important: a lower gross ratio does not automatically mean lower residual risk. Axis’s disclosed slippage and net-credit-cost figures add flow information that the headline NPA percentages lack.

Ask whether deterioration is broad or concentrated

Break slippages and stressed assets by retail, corporate, small business, geography and product where the releases allow. Concentration in one segment can make the next quarter’s risk more volatile than a stable aggregate ratio suggests.

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Keep annualized flows separate from period-end stocks

A slippage ratio is generally annualized, while NPA percentages are measured at the reporting date. Do not compare a quarterly flow with a point-in-time stock as if they were the same type of measure. Track both on a chart across at least four quarters.

Compare capital buffers, not just capital ratios

Total capital adequacy ratio (CAR) measures capital against risk-weighted assets; CET1 is the highest-quality common-equity component. The useful question is the distance above the applicable regulatory minimum, not simply which bank prints the larger percentage.

Q2 FY27 capital metric ICICI Bank Axis Bank HDFC Bank
Total capital adequacy 16.68% 16.27% total CAR Not stated in the available extract
CET1 16.01% 14.61% Not stated in the available extract
Regulatory minimum cited in release 11.70% total capital; 8.20% CET1 Not stated in the supplied figures Confirm the applicable minimum and buffer in the presentation
Leverage and liquidity ratios Not stated in the supplied figures Not stated in the supplied figures Retrieve from the Q2 FY27 presentation

ICICI’s release explicitly sets its total-capital and CET1 ratios against the cited minimums, making the buffer transparent. Axis discloses both total CAR and CET1, but the applicable minimum and resulting buffer must be read from its regulatory footnotes. Capital can be consumed by loan growth, mark-to-market losses or acquisitions, so compare the trajectory rather than treating one quarter’s ratio as permanent protection.

Understand funding mix and FCNR(B) adjustments

Funding quality links the balance sheet to the margin. Compare CASA growth, term-deposit growth, deposit cost, retail versus wholesale funding, liquidity coverage and the share of foreign-currency deposits where disclosed.

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Axis specifically notes that some balances are period-end while others are quarterly averages, and that excluding FCNR(B) balances changes reported growth and NIM. Preserve those definitions in your spreadsheet. If one bank reports a margin including FCNR(B) and another excludes it, show both the reported and adjusted values with a footnote rather than ranking them directly.

Recommended funding checks

  • Calculate deposits-to-loans using period-end balances only.
  • Compare CASA share and its year-on-year change.
  • Track deposit cost and the proportion of high-cost wholesale or bulk deposits.
  • Identify whether loan growth is being funded by stable retail deposits or shorter-tenor market instruments.
  • Record every FCNR(B), securitization, certificate-of-deposit or other adjustment used in the release.
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What the disclosed Q2 FY27 numbers say about each bank

ICICI Bank: strongest disclosed scale and growth momentum

ICICI combines the largest disclosed deposit and loan balances with the fastest reported year-on-year growth among the two banks for which comparable scale figures are available. Its NII and core operating profit also grew at double-digit rates, so the next checks are NIM stability, fee income, cost-to-income and provisions. Its gross and net NPA pair indicates a low residual net ratio, while the reported capital ratios provide a substantial stated buffer over the cited minimums.

Axis Bank: fuller disclosure of margin, returns and credit flows

Axis supplies the most complete set of operating and risk indicators in the available figures: NIM with and without the FCNR(B) effect, PAT, ROA, ROE, PCR, slippages, net credit cost and both capital ratios. Its deposits and net advances grew solidly, but the quality of that expansion should be judged with CASA, funding cost and segment-level stress data.

HDFC Bank: obtain the Q2 FY27 presentation before ranking

HDFC Bank’s official archive lists Q2 FY27 financial results and a presentation dated October 17, 2026. The available material here does not expose the individual KPI values needed for a three-bank table. Do not replace them with Q2 FY26 numbers or infer them from a headline. Download the presentation and capture deposits, advances, NII, NIM, fee income, operating profit, PAT, ROA, ROE, GNPA, NNPA, slippages, credit cost, CASA, CAR and CET1 on the same basis used for the other two banks.

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Build a repeatable quarterly comparison worksheet

  1. Fix the scope: enter “Q2 FY27, quarter ended September 30, 2026” and select standalone or consolidated.
  2. Capture balance-sheet scale: record deposits, gross loans or net advances, CASA and retail/corporate mix, marking each as period-end or average.
  3. Capture core earnings: enter NII, NIM, fee income, operating profit and cost-to-income, including every adjustment such as FCNR(B).
  4. Capture returns: record PAT, annualized ROA, annualized ROE and EPS, and identify exceptional items.
  5. Capture credit risk: enter GNPA, NNPA, PCR, gross slippages, recoveries, upgrades, write-offs, net credit cost and restructured assets.
  6. Capture resilience: enter total CAR, CET1, leverage and liquidity ratios, then calculate the buffer above the applicable minimum.
  7. Calculate changes: add year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter movement for every metric for which both periods are available.
  8. Check definitions: reconcile footnotes, average-versus-period-end bases, annualization and foreign-currency adjustments before ranking.
  9. Review trends: compare at least four quarters and, ideally, three years before assigning a durable winner.

How to decide which bank had the strongest quarter

Use six decision axes rather than one headline number:

Axis Questions to answer Evidence to prioritize
Growth and funding quality Is loan growth funded by stable deposits? Deposits, advances, CASA, deposit cost, retail/wholesale mix
Margin and efficiency Are spreads and operating leverage improving? NII, NIM definition, fee income, cost-to-income, core operating profit
Profitability and returns Is PAT translating into efficient use of assets and equity? PAT, annualized ROA, annualized ROE, EPS, exceptional items
Asset-quality risk Are current NPAs stable and new stress contained? GNPA, NNPA, PCR, slippages, recoveries, net credit cost, restructurings
Capital resilience Can the bank absorb stress while continuing to grow? CET1, total CAR, regulatory buffer, leverage, liquidity
Consistency Is this quarter representative? Four-quarter and multi-year trend, segment concentration, disclosure consistency

On the disclosed numbers alone, ICICI has the clearest scale and growth advantage, while Axis offers a richer picture of returns, margins and credit flows. That is not an overall three-bank verdict because the HDFC KPI set is incomplete here and because a single quarter can be distorted by provisioning, treasury gains or funding-market effects.

Common comparison mistakes and fixes

  • Mixing standalone and consolidated data: label every worksheet column and do not combine bases.
  • Comparing period-end loans with average assets: use the same balance convention for growth and margin analysis.
  • Ranking unadjusted and adjusted NIMs together: show the FCNR(B) treatment beside the margin.
  • Calling a lower GNPA automatically safer: add NNPA, PCR, slippages and credit cost.
  • Ignoring annualization: mark ROA, ROE and slippage ratios as annualized where applicable.
  • Using PAT as the sole score: bridge PAT through operating profit, provisions, exceptional items and tax.
  • Filling missing HDFC figures with an older quarter: leave the cell “not stated” until the Q2 FY27 presentation is checked.
  • Declaring a winner after one period: require a multi-quarter trend and investigate any one-off movement.

Bottom line

The right quarterly comparison is a six-part scorecard: growth and funding quality; NII, NIM and efficiency; PAT and returns; asset-quality stocks and flows; capital buffers; and consistency across quarters. For Q2 FY27, ICICI’s disclosed figures lead on scale and growth, while Axis provides detailed evidence on margins, returns, provisions and capital. Add HDFC Bank’s values from its October 17, 2026 Q2 FY27 presentation, align all definitions, and then judge the strongest quarter on risk-adjusted, repeatable performance rather than on PAT or loan growth alone.

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