MUMBAI, Aug. 28 -- For the deposit-holders and borrowers who had spent eight quarters watching HDFC Bank's margins narrow after its landmark merger with HDFC Limited, the April-June quarter delivered something that had become unfamiliar: a number that moved in the right direction.

HDFC Bank reported net profit of Rs.16,930 crore for Q1 FY27, a 13% increase from Rs.14,985 crore in the same period last year. Net interest income rose 11% year-on-year to Rs.30,200 crore. The result came in marginally above the consensus estimate from Kotak Institutional Equities, which had pegged profit at Rs.16,700 crore. The net interest margin reached 3.47%, three basis points better than Q4 FY26. After six straight quarters of compression, a turnaround, ...