With the Reserve Bank of India encouraging banks to raise their credit-to-deposit ratio, the war for liabilities is only going to grow more interesting. While public sector banks have the largest network base in the country, their capacity to attract deposits is significantly lower than that of private sector banks. HDFC Bank, India's largest private sector lender, outperformed State Bank of India in terms of deposits despite having only one-third the branch footprint.

The State Bank of India had the greatest deposit base at Rs 49.01 lakh crore at the end of the June 2024 quarter. It added Rs3.70 lakh crore of deposits in one year, bringing the total deposit base to Rs 45.31 lakh crore as of June 2023. SBI has collected these deposits through a massive branch network of 22,580.

Private sector lender HDFC Bank was the highest performer among banks in terms of deposit growth, adding a massive Rs4.66 lakh crore in a single year. Its deposit base stood at Rs 23.79 lakh crore at the end of the June 24 quarter, compared to Rs19.13 lakh crore the previous year. It is worth noting that these deposits were accumulated using an 8851-branch network, which accounts for about one-third of SBI's network.

ICICI Bank added Rs 1.87 lakh crore of deposits, bringing its total liabilities to Rs 14.26 lakh crore. This stood at Rs 12.38 lakh crore a year ago. At the conclusion of the June quarter, its branch network totaled 6587.

Punjab National Bank, a public sector lender, amassed liabilities worth Rs 1.10 lakh crore in one year and has the second largest branch network of 10,150. Its total deposits as of the end of the June 2024 quarter stood at Rs 14.08 lakh crore, up from Rs 12.97 lakh crore the previous year.

Canara Bank also added Rs 1.42 lakh crore worth of deposits, bringing its total deposit base to Rs 13.35 lakh crore at the end of the June quarter. It contains a total of 9623 branches. Its deposits for the June 2023 quarter stood at Rs 11.92 lakh crore.