Except for the last three years, private sector banks have been big wealth creators and probably a set of stocks where every foreign portfolio investor (FPI) had or has a stake in them. In the last three years they have underperformed and questions were raised about is the best behind them. Then come these words, focusing on higher deposit growth / Adjustment period / slow credit growth. Probably this is what the street knew for quite some time and wanted to hear it from the management so that it can reset its expectations. It was not only HDFC banks which have been underperforming for the last three years. If one looks at the other major private sector banks all of them are facing issues of different nature. Will others follow the same path so that expectations are reset. To some it might come as a surprise, but the relative performance of HDFC banks in the last two months has been much better.
