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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11There is no unconditional winner on the available company fundamentals. Bajaj Finance offers a faster-growth specialist-lender profile, but investors need to weigh its credit-cycle and funding sensitivity alongside the capital required to expand. HDFC Bank has a large deposit franchise and reported a 1.15% gross NPA ratio in Q4 FY2026; its post-merger funding costs and margin recovery remain important to the case. Either stock could be a better fit depending on risk tolerance, investment horizon and, crucially, the price paid. The figures below are current through October 7, 2026, but do not establish which share is attractively valued today.
What kind of financial business are you buying?
Bajaj Finance is a non-bank financial company (NBFC). Its FY2026 annual-report material describes a broad offering that includes loans, fixed deposits, payments, insurance and investments, delivered through digital and physical channels. HDFC Bank is a bank with banking operations and a substantial deposit-taking franchise. The distinction matters: the companies have different funding structures, regulatory frameworks and business economics. Their similarly named asset-quality, return and capital ratios should not be treated as if they were calculated on identical bases.
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How do their reported FY2026 figures compare?
The table puts key figures in one place, but it is not a like-for-like scorecard. Bajaj figures include both company-reported highlights and ICRA’s audited consolidated indicators; HDFC’s annual results and Q4 presentation use standalone Indian GAAP figures. Periods and definitions vary by row.
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| Measure | Bajaj Finance | HDFC Bank | How to read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business and funding | Diversified NBFC offering lending and other financial products; funding includes market borrowings and deposits. (Bajaj Finance FY2025 annual-report business context; ICRA, June 18, 2026) | Bank with a deposit-taking franchise. Deposits were ₹31,001.7 billion at March 31, 2026; current and savings accounts (CASA) were 34.1% of deposits. (HDFC Bank FY2026 Form 20-F) | The models and funding sources differ, so neither business type nor a single funding figure establishes which has lower risk in every environment. |
| FY2026 scale | Company-reported AUM: ₹509,975 crore. Separately, ICRA reported audited consolidated total managed assets of ₹5,81,280 crore and PAT of ₹19,332 crore. (Bajaj Finance FY2026 annual-report material; ICRA, June 18, 2026) | Standalone net revenues: ₹1,912.2 billion; PAT: ₹746.7 billion. (HDFC Bank FY2026 audited results) | AUM and total managed assets are not the same measure as bank revenue or PAT. Do not rank company scale by comparing unlike measures. |
| Growth and profitability | Company-reported FY2026 AUM growth was 22% and ROE was 19.2%. Its highlighted PAT and ROE presentation excludes specified additional ECL, management and macro overlays, and a one-time labour-code charge. ICRA separately calculated return on average managed assets of 3.6%. (Bajaj Finance FY2026 annual-report material; ICRA, June 18, 2026) | In Q4 FY2026, average deposits grew 12.8% year over year and average advances under management grew 10.0%; NIM was 3.38% and ROA was 1.96%. (HDFC Bank Q4 FY2026 presentation) | Bajaj’s ROE and ICRA’s return on average managed assets are different measures; neither is directly comparable to HDFC’s quarterly ROA or NIM. |
| Asset quality | Company-reported FY2026 GNPA was 1.01% and NNPA was 0.41%; ICRA reported gross Stage 3 assets of 1.0%. (Bajaj Finance FY2026 annual-report material; ICRA, June 18, 2026) | Q4 FY2026 gross NPA was 1.15%, or 0.91% excluding agricultural advances, as presented by the bank. (HDFC Bank Q4 FY2026 presentation) | These are point-in-time ratios from different portfolios and definitions; the lower reported number alone does not settle future credit losses. |
| Capital | Standalone CRAR was 21.6%. (ICRA, June 18, 2026) | Capital adequacy was 19.7%, including CET1 of 17.3%. (HDFC Bank Q4 FY2026 presentation) | Regulatory frameworks, entity basis and ratio calculations differ, so the percentages are not a direct ranking of balance-sheet capacity. |
| Newer operating update | A comparable FY2027 interim-quarter update was not established in the cited sources. (ICRA, June 18, 2026; Bajaj Finance FY2026 annual-report material) | In the June 2026 update, period-end gross advances were ₹30,610 billion, up about 15.4% year over year; average deposits were ₹30,114 billion, up about 13.3%. The filing said June 30 results were subject to limited review. (HDFC Bank June 2026 quarter filing) | HDFC’s update is newer than the full-year baseline, but it is not a matched latest-quarter comparison with Bajaj Finance. |
What makes Bajaj Finance attractive—and what to monitor
Growth paired with returns and capital use
ICRA’s audited series shows total managed assets rising from ₹3,85,101 crore in FY2024 to ₹5,81,280 crore in FY2026. Over that period, ICRA-calculated return on average managed assets moved from 4.3% to 3.6%, while standalone CRAR moved from 22.5% to 21.6%. These figures do not by themselves show that performance is deteriorating. They do mean that an investor assessing expansion should look beyond asset growth to profitability per asset and the capital consumed in supporting that growth.
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Company strategy is a plan, not a result
Bajaj Finance’s Long-Range Strategy 2026–30 emphasizes customer centricity and technology leadership and states an ambition to be India’s lowest-risk company. Those are management priorities and a target, not proof of a future outcome. The investment question is whether the company can continue growing while maintaining underwriting discipline, sustainable returns and attractive funding terms through different credit conditions.
What makes HDFC Bank attractive—and what to monitor
Deposit franchise and funding economics
HDFC Bank’s deposit base gives it a different funding profile from an NBFC that relies in part on market borrowings. The bank reported deposits of ₹31,001.7 billion at March 31, 2026, with CASA at 34.1% of deposits. These figures show the scale and composition of its deposit funding; they do not guarantee that deposit growth or funding costs will remain favourable.
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Merger integration and margins
The merger with HDFC Limited became effective July 1, 2023. In its FY2026 Form 20-F, HDFC Bank said: “Our net interest margins decreased as a result of the Transaction because HDFC Limited had a relatively lower-yielding asset product mix and a relatively higher cost of funds compared to the Bank.” That is the bank’s explanation of merger-related margin pressure, not an independent forecast. Investors can follow deposit growth against advances, funding costs and NIM to assess how the combined business’s economics develop.
How to decide which stock fits your approach
Use the business profiles to frame the choice, then assess each share at its current price. This is a conditional investor lens, not a prediction of returns.
| If your priority is… | What to examine | Key trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Faster growth from a specialist lender | Bajaj Finance’s growth alongside asset-quality trends, return on assets, funding costs and capital consumption. | Expansion can be attractive, but an NBFC’s funding and credit performance are exposed to changing conditions. |
| A deposit-funded banking franchise | HDFC Bank’s deposit growth and mix, cost of funds, NIM, asset quality and post-merger operating progress. | The deposit franchise is central to the case, while merger-related funding and margin effects still need to be assessed. |
| A share likely to deliver an adequate return from today’s price | Current valuation, earnings expectations, and the return implied by the price you would pay. | The operating figures here do not establish current prices or comparable valuation estimates, so they cannot identify the better buy today. |
What to check before making a long-term comparison
- Align the reporting basis: distinguish company highlights from audited figures, consolidated measures from standalone ones, and annual results from quarterly indicators.
- Assess growth quality: consider whether asset growth is translating into sustainable profitability without weakening credit quality or using capital less efficiently.
- Follow funding and execution: for Bajaj Finance, watch funding costs, underwriting and capital needs; for HDFC Bank, track deposits, margins and merger-related economics.
- Review valuation separately: compare both shares using current prices and appropriately comparable valuation measures. Historical operating strength alone is not a buy signal.
- Match the choice to your circumstances: risk tolerance, horizon and the rest of your portfolio affect whether either company’s risk profile makes sense for you.
On company profile alone, Bajaj Finance may suit an investor seeking a higher-growth NBFC and willing to accept greater sensitivity to funding and credit cycles; HDFC Bank may suit an investor seeking a large deposit-taking bank and willing to follow its post-merger margin and funding progress. The available figures do not establish which stock will outperform or which is better valued at the date you invest.
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