The bank has lowered the MCLR by up to 5 basis points (bps) on select loan tenures.HDFC Bank Chairman Atanu Chakraborty on Friday said it’s time for the private sector “to do the heavy lifting” by innovating products, cutting costs and improving delivery, instead of waiting for demand to rise.Addressing the annual general meeting of the bank, Chakraborty also warned that there’s a need to monitor the global developments closely, particularly for their potential impact on funding conditions, market stability and global economic outlook amid uncertainties on trade and geopolitics.“Imposition of unilateral tariffs by a certain country is disturbing the global trade regime,” he said.“Major economies showed signs of slowing down, with global GDP growth at 3.3 per cent for year 2024. The geopolitical tensions in several parts of the world continue to affect global supply chains and commodity prices,” Chakraborty said.The projected global growth by the IMF of 3.0 per cent for the year 2025, does not look robust, with the uncertainties on trade and geopolitics, he said.The HDFC Bank chairman said the drivers for growth would be low inflation and, in the medium term, impact of government spending on infrastructure and a large unmet demand for housing, particularly for affordable housing. “Multiple domestic tailwinds are expected to support growth,” he said. The RBI has projected growth to be 6.5 per cent for FY26.What HDFC Bank chairman said about demand conditionsOn demand conditions, he said, “we also witnessed softening of urban demand. Fixed investments stayed modest. Foreign capital inflows also weakened in the latter half of the year, reflecting global uncertainty.”Story continues below this ad“Even so, domestic growth has found meaningful support in rural demand that is backed by favourable Monsoon conditions and a strong harvest. Exports grew by 6.3 per cent, led by services, with global capability centres continuing to expand,” he said. Construction and services remained robust, expanding above 9 and 7 per cent respectively. Manufacturing, however, showed a slowdown, Chakraborty said.“India being a part of diversified global value chains, robust public digital infrastructure and consequent formalisation of the economy, provides a strong foundation for credit growth, in spite of external risks,” he said.The bank has a customer base of over 9.7 crore, and it serves them through 9,455 branches, 15,399 business correspondents and multiple digital channels. “Over half of our branches are in the semi-urban and rural areas, facilitating wide coverage and accessibility to essential financial services,” he said.“Almost 90 per cent of our branches are now actively offering home loans to customers,” he said.Story continues below this adMeanwhile, the bank has lowered the MCLR by up to 5 basis points (bps) on select loan tenures.© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd