State Bank of India (SBI) may have lost some share in the home loan market but is keen to protect its turf as the leader in this segment. The state-owned lender’s chairman Dinesh Khara has reiterated that the bank is and will continue to lead the home loan market.

There is no slowing down and SBI’s home loan sanctions are already up 15% this financial year, Khara told analysts after the bank announced its fiscal first quarter results on Friday.

The home loan book of the country’s largest bank has crossed Rs 6.52 lakh crore as of 30 June 2023 and is growing at around 14%, Khara said.

The merger of mortgage lender HDFC Ltd with HDFC Bank on 1 July has set the tone for the home loan market to change directions.

After the merger of the parent HDFC Ltd with HDFC Bank, analysts have pegged the combined mortgage book of India’s largest private sector bank at Rs 7.3 lakh crore as of 31 March 2023. HDFC Bank, however, did not reveal the numbers in the June quarter earnings which was announced on 17 July. The merger was effective from 1 July and HDFC shares got extinguished on 13 July. SBI's home loan book at that time was Rs 6.4 lakh crore.

“We can gain market share by just dropping the interest rates. We are conscious of pricing,” Khara said.

In February 2021, SBI overtook the old home loan market leader HDFC Ltd when its book crossed the Rs 5 lakh crore mark. At that time, SBI enjoyed a share of 23.5% of the home loan market versus HDFC's 17%.

In the quarter ended June 2023, SBI’s home loan book grew 13.47% to Rs 6,52,548 crore in Q1FY24 compared to Rs 6,40,680 crore a quarter ago and Rs 5,75,075 lakh crore a year ago.

SBI’s home loans have grown over 15% in July and the bank is expecting this to further rise during the festival season.

In February 2021, Khara had said that the bank had set an internal target of doubling the book to Rs 10 lakh crore in the next five years and to Rs 7 lakh crore by FY24.

SBI’s retail personal loans have grown 17% compounded over the last four years, Khara said.