With a low NPA and high CASA deposit combination, IDFC First Bank is one of the most efficient banks in the country. Yet a periodic slip in its bottom line makes its equities cheaper. But the youngest in the industry has many strengths – one of the friendliest for customers in the banking space.
IDFC FIRST Bank says it is building a world-class bank in India, guided by four core principles: ethical banking, customer-friendly banking, digital banking, and social good banking. The bank was created out merger of infrastructure financing giant IDFC Bank and retail financing specialist Capital First in December 2018. Earlier, IDFC Bank launched commercial banking operations in 2016. The offers products and services across all segments including retail, MSME, rural, startups, corporate banking, cash management, wealth management, retail deposits, government banking, working capital, trade finance, and treasury solutions. The bank follows a Near and Dear test to ensure that all products are so friendly that the employees can confidently recommend them to their loved ones. The bank holds the belief that income earned unethically is not worth earning. Hence it has simplified descriptions, calculations, and legal jargon to avoid confusing customers.
It offers zero fees on most services in savings accounts, such as SMS alerts, IMPS, RTGS, NEFT, cash deposits, non-home branch access, ATM and branch cash withdrawals, third-party transactions, cheque-books, demand drafts, pay orders, duplicate statements, and other commonly charged services. It is the first and only bank in India to date to do so. It is one of the banks that provides monthly interest credit on savings accounts. In credit cards, the bank offers lifetime free cards without minimum spend conditions, rewards point that do not expire, zero interest on cash withdrawal at ATMs and dynamic low APR. Fees, if applicable are transparent and clearly described for easy understanding. The credit card base of the bank has crossed the 3.2 million mark as of the end of the third quarter of the financial year 2025-26. Built on a modern technology stack, the bank offers an advanced mobile banking app with 250 features. It has a high rating of 4.8 on Google Playstore and Appstore. FORRESTER the internationally renowned rating entity has rated the app the best in India and among the top 20 apps in the world for two years straight. In the first three quarters of the current financial year, the bank reported 28 per cent growth in customer deposits compared to the previous year to ₹2,27,316 crore as of December 31, 2024, from ₹1,76,481 crore as of December 31, 2023. Retail deposits constitute 80 per cent of total customer deposits. The retail deposits grew 29.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis to ₹1,80,752 crore during the period. CASA Deposits grew 32.3 per cent from ₹ 85,492 crore to ₹1,13,078 crore as of December 31, 2024. Its CASA ratio, out of the overall liabilities, stands at 47.7 per cent, which is one the best in the industry. Loans and advances including credit substitutes increased 22 per cent to ₹2,31,074 crore, and retail book grew 21.3 per cent while non-infrastructure corporate loans grew 28.9 per cent. There was a moderate increase in its gross non-performing assets at 2.04 per cent. But the net NPA fell to 0.52 per cent, again one of the best in the industry.
In the third quarter of the financial year, the bank reported a degrowth in net profit at ₹339 crore as against ₹716 crore. “Our bank continues to grow well on loans and deposits. Our customer deposits are growing strongly at 29% YoY to reach ₹2,27,316 crore, with the CASA ratio sustaining at 48 per cent. The loans and advances grew steadily by 22 per cent to reach ₹2,31,074 crore,” says V Vaidyanathan, Managing Director and CEO. The bank is tracking the micro-finance loan book closely considering the industry situation, he adds.
