While public sector banks (PSBs) continue to gather deposits at a brisk pace, the rate of growth of deposits was higher for private sector banks in FY23. The top five PSBs – State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Union Bank of India – mobilised a total of Rs 8.43 trillion in deposits in FY23. SBI’s total deposits grew the highest incrementally, at Rs 3.72 trillion. Analysts attribute the rise in deposits to the large branch network of PSU banks, the high comfort level that borrowers have with a sovereign-backed bank, and growing partnerships of PSU banks with third party players, including business correspondents and fintechs. In comparison, the top five private banks – HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and IndusInd Bank – garnered a total of Rs 6.60 trillion of deposits in FY23. In a first, HDFC Bank came close to SBI in terms of incremental deposit accretion, gaining over Rs 3.24 trillion of deposits in the previous fiscal, on account of ongoing merger of Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) with the bank.