• Disbursement and loan growth: Q1 disbursements rose 14.5% year-on-year to ₹15,014 crore, positioning the company to target around 15% disbursement growth in Q2 and achieve its guided 10% to 12% full-year loan book growth.
• Portfolio diversification strategy: To mitigate heavy competition from banks in salaried individual home loans (which form ~85% of the book), the company is expanding non-individual housing loans and formalizing policies for direct assignment and co-lending.
• Asset quality and recoveries: Earnings were supported by a ₹140 crore asset sale to an ARC, with further NPA pool sales planned and advanced resolutions of legacy NPAs expected to aid asset quality in Q2 and Q3.
• Competitive pricing pressure: PSU banks hold an estimated 250 bps borrowing cost advantage (around 5% versus 7.5%), prompting the company to review incremental lending rates to protect margins against rising funding costs.
• Operating costs and ROA: Elevated Q1 operating expenditure included a one-off ₹22 crore gratuity-related expense, while Q1 ROA improved by 9 basis points year-on-year to 1.85%, tracking ahead of full-year guidance.