Surplus liquidity prevailing in the system couple with ample cash available with corporates and people, the banks have been comfortably been able to build their current and savings account deposits. This proportion of low cost deposits is to receive some pressure owing to the huge investment by companies in the coming months as a capacity addition regime and rising interest rates. Recent RBI figures have shown that the demand deposits of the banks rose by 22.88% in the fiscal just ended. Time deposits showed a 16.23% increase. Demand deposits refer to those deposits which mature in less than one year while time deposits have a maturity of more than one year. "While we will try to ensure that Casa stays around these levels, it is a tough task once investment picks up. But a larger branch network should help," said an executive with a private bank. The last fiscal has seen a surge in cash flows for sectors such as gems and jewellery and real estate. With this revival, banks like HDFC saw CASA shares rise upto50%. ICICI Bank remained the largest gainer. "We have focused on the capital market-related activities and commercial banking through the year. Those are the factors which have led to the increase in the current account level," Rakesh Jha, deputy chief financial officer, ICICI Bank said. However, the rise of CASA shares has been comparatively lower for public sector banks who mostly rely on casa and retail deposits. "The smaller increase is because of the high base. Unlike the private players, the level of deposits with us is much higher. Besides, private players such as HDFC Bank are settlement banks for stock and commodity exchanges which also help them show a higher Casa percentage," said a public sector bank executive. |