We have jointly audited the Standalone Financial Statements of HDFC Bank Limited (hereinafter referred to as “the Bank”), whichcomprise the Standalone Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2026, the Standalone Profit and Loss Account and the Standalone CashFlow Statement for the year then ended, and notes to the Standalone Financial Statements, including a summary of significantaccounting policies and other explanatory information.
In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, the aforesaid Standalone FinancialStatements give the information required by the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 as well as the Companies Act, 2013 (“the Act”) inthe manner so required for banking companies and give a true and fair view in conformity with the accounting principles generallyaccepted in India, of the state of affairs of the Bank as at 31 March 2026, of its profit and its cash flows for the year then ended.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the Standards on Auditing (“the SAs”) specified under Section 143(10) of the Act. Ourresponsibilities under those SAs are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Standalone FinancialStatements section of our report. We are independent of the Bank in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant toour audit of the Standalone Financial Statements in terms of the Code of Ethics issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountantsof India (“the ICAI”) and the relevant provisions of the Act and the Rules thereunder, Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and applicablecirculars, master directions and guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India (“the RBI”) from time to time, and we have fulfilled ourother ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence obtained by us is sufficientand appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion on the Standalone Financial Statements.
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the StandaloneFinancial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2026. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the StandaloneFinancial Statements as a whole and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.We have determined the matters described below to be the key audit matters to be communicated in our report.
Description of Key audit matters
Key Audit Matter
How our audit addressed the key audit matter
Identification of Non-performing Advances (“NPA”), Provisioning of NPA and Contingent Provision: Gross NPA as at 31 March 2026:' 34,061.19 crore, Provision for NPA as at 31 March 2026: ' 22,891.65 crore (Refer Schedule 17 (C)(3), Schedule 18 note 9) and Contingent
Provision as at 31 March 2026: ' 15,675.72 crore (Refer Schedule 5)
The Bank is required to comply with the Master Circular
Our key audit procedures included the following, among others:
dated 01 April 2025 issued by the RBI on "Prudential normson Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioningpertaining to Advances", which has since been supersededby the Master Directions dated 28 November 2025 issued
>
U nderstanding the Bank's approach and policy for identification of NPAand provisioning, systems and controls implemented in this regardand its compliance with the IRAC norms.
by the RBI on “Commercial Banks - Income Recognition,
Evaluating the governance process and controls over computation of
Asset Classification and Provisioning” and amendments
provision for NPA to examine and test that the provision determined
thereto (the “IRAC norms”), which prescribe the guidelines for
is in accordance with the Board of Directors approved policy and the
identification of NPA, classification of NPA and the minimum
IRAC norms.
provision required for such advances.
Testing the design and implementation, and operating effectiveness of
The Bank uses data from its IT systems for identification of
key internal financial controls on a test check basis over identification
NPA, classification of NPA and computation of provision for
of NPA, classification of NPA and computation of provision for NPA
NPA, that is subject to automated and manual controls.
in accordance with the IRAC norms and consideration of qualitativefactors including monitoring of credit quality and overdue loan
The provision for NPA is estimated based on ageing andclassification of NPA, nature of product, value of security and
accounts.
other qualitative factors. The provision on NPA is based onthe Bank’s approved policy subject to minimum provisioningnorms prescribed by the RBI.
I nvolving our IT audit team for testing IT general controls andapplication controls over identification of NPA, classification of NPAand computation of provision for NPA. These have been elaboratedin Key audit matters of Information Technology system and controls
The Bank also applies judgement for identification of NPAand determining the provision for NPA considering various
impacting financial reporting.
quantitative as well as qualitative factors (including stress and
On a test check basis, recomputing the days past due, verifying the
liquidity concerns in certain sectors).
date of NPA and classification of NPA.
In addition to provision on NPA, the Bank maintains contingent
With respect to provisions recognised towards NPA, computing
provision on advances that are not NPA but has reasons
provision on a test check basis taking into consideration the value of
to believe that slippage is possible. The determination of
security, where applicable, the IRAC norms and the approved policy
contingent provision is based on quantitative criteria (including
of the Bank, and comparing our outcome to that prepared by the
days past due) as well as qualitative risk indicators that involve
management. Evaluating relevant assumptions, judgements and other
management estimates and judgements.
qualitative factors considered by the management.
Since the identification of NPA and provisioning for NPA
Assessing the reasonableness of the Bank’s framework for contingent
involve the management’s estimates and judgement, largedata volumes, complex system logics, manual interventions,and the application of multiple regulatory requirements andmeasurement of contingent provision involves managementestimates and judgement, we have identified this as a keyaudit matter.
provision, including evaluation of quantitative thresholds andqualitative risk indicators.
Examining management’s rationale for creation of contingent provision,including understanding of key assumptions, identification of pool ofadvances and provision range in terms of the aforesaid framework.
Uerifying, on a test check basis, the application of the aforesaidframework to selected advances, recomputing the provisions, andassessing the completeness and accuracy of the advances identified.
How the matter was addressed in our audit
Information technology (“IT”) system and controls impacting financial reporting
The IT environment of the Bank is complex and involves asignificant number of independent and interdependent ITsystems used in the operations of the Bank for processing andrecording a large volume of transactions.
As a result, there is a high degree of reliance and dependencyon such IT systems for the financial reporting process of theBank.
Appropriate IT general controls and IT application controls arerequired to ensure that such IT systems are able to processthe data as required, completely, accurately, and consistentlyfor reliable financial reporting.
We have identified “IT systems and automated controls”as a key audit matter because of high level of automation,significant number of systems being used by Bank and therelative complexity of the IT architecture.
In assessing the controls over the IT systems of the Bank, involving our ITaudit team to obtain an understanding of the IT architecture which includesIT environment, IT infrastructure and IT systems. Evaluating and testing therelevant IT general controls over “in-scope” IT systems and IT automatedcontrols identified as relevant for our audit of the standalone financialstatements and financial reporting process of the Bank. On such “in-scope”IT systems, testing the key IT general controls with respect to the followingdomains:
> P rogram change management, which includes relevant control thatensures program changes are moved to the production environmentas per defined procedures and relevant segregation of duties.
> Pser access management, which includes control for grantingaccess rights, new user creation, removal of user rights, periodicaccess management, password management and privilege accessto unauthorized personnel.
P rogram development, which includes controls over existing andnew IT application development, implementation, data migrationand supporting infrastructure, which are relied upon for financialreporting process.
1 T operations, which includes job scheduling, monitoring and backupand recovery.
E valuating the design and testing the operating effectiveness ofrelevant key IT dependencies within the key business process,which included testing automated controls, interfaces and systemgenerated reports, as applicable.
Pesting a combination of compensating controls or remediatedcontrols and / or performed alternative audit procedures, wherenecessary.
The Bank’s management and the Board of Directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises theinformation included in the Bank’s annual report but does not include the financial statements and auditor’s report thereon. Theannual report is expected to be made available to us after the date of this auditor’s report.
Our opinion on the Standalone Financial Statements does not cover the other information and we will not express any form ofassurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the Standalone Financial Statements, our responsibility is to read the other information identifiedabove when it becomes available and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with theStandalone Financial Statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.
When we read the annual report, if we conclude that there is a material misstatement therein, we are required to communicate thematter to those charged with governance and take necessary actions, as applicable under the relevant laws and regulations.
The Bank’s management and the Board of Directors are responsible for the matters stated in Section 134(5) of the Act with respectto the preparation and presentation of these Standalone Financial Statements that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs,profit / loss and cash flows of the Bank in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in India, including theAccounting Standards specified under Section 133 of the Act, the provisions of Section 29 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949and applicable circulars, master directions and guidelines issued by the RBI from time to time. This responsibility also includesmaintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act, Banking Regulation Act, 1949 andapplicable circulars, master directions and guidelines issued by the RBI from time to time, for safeguarding the assets of the Bankand for preventing and detecting frauds and other irregularities, the selection and application of appropriate accounting policies,making judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent, and the design, implementation and maintenance of adequateinternal financial controls, that were operating effectively for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the accounting records,relevant to the preparation and presentation of the Standalone Financial Statements that give a true and fair view and are free frommaterial misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the Standalone Financial Statements, the management and the Board of Directors are responsible for assessingthe Bank’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the goingconcern basis of accounting unless the Board of Directors either intends to liquidate the Bank or to cease operations, or has norealistic alternative but to do so.
The Board of Directors is also responsible for overseeing the Bank’s financial reporting process.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the Standalone Financial Statements as a whole are free frommaterial misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonableassurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with SAs will always detecta material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individuallyor in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of theseStandalone Financial Statements.
As part of an audit in accordance with SAs, we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughoutthe audit. We also:
• Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the Standalone Financial Statements, whether due to fraud or error,design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriateto provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than forone resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override ofinternal control.
• Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in thecircumstances. Under Section 143(3)(i) of the Act, we are also responsible for expressing our opinion on whether the Bank has
adequate internal financial controls over financial reporting with reference to the Standalone Financial Statements in placeand the operating effectiveness of such controls.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and relateddisclosures made by the management and the Board of Directors.
• Conclude on the appropriateness of the management and the Board of Directors use of the going concern basis of accounting inpreparation of the Standalone Financial Statements and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertaintyexists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Bank’s ability to continue as a going concern. If weconclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosuresin the Standalone Financial Statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions arebased on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may causethe Bank to cease to continue as a going concern and
• Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the Standalone Financial Statements, including the disclosures,and whether the Standalone Financial Statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achievesfair presentation.
We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the auditand significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.
We also provide those charged with governance with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethical requirements regardingindependence, and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on ourindependence, and where applicable, related safeguards.
From the matters communicated with those charged with governance, we determine those matters that were of most significancein the audit of the Standalone Financial Statements of the current year and are therefore the key audit matters. We describe thesematters in our auditor’s report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rarecircumstances, we determine that a matter should not be communicated in our report because the adverse consequences of doingso would reasonably be expected to outweigh the public interest benefits of such communication.
The Standalone Financial Statements of the Bank for the year ended 31 March 2025, were audited jointly by one of the joint auditorsalong with predecessor auditor, who vide their report dated 19 April 2025 had expressed an unmodified opinion on those StandaloneFinancial Statements.
1. In our opinion, the Standalone Balance Sheet and the Standalone Profit and Loss account have been drawn up in accordancewith the provisions of Section 29 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and Section 133 of the Act.
2. As required by sub-section (3) of Section 30 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, we report that:
(a) We have obtained all the information and explanations which, to the best of our knowledge and belief, were necessaryfor the purpose of our audit and have found them to be satisfactory.
(b) The transactions of the Bank which have come to our notice have been within the powers of the Bank.
(c) During the course of our audit, we have visited 51 branches to examine the records maintained at the branches and performrelevant audit procedures. Since the key operations of the Bank are automated with the key applications integrated to thecore banking systems, the audit is carried out centrally at the Bank’s head office located in Mumbai, as all the necessaryrecords and data required for the purposes of our audit are available therein. Hence, no returns are being called from thebranch offices of the Bank.
(d) The standalone profit and loss account for the year ended 31 March 2026 shows a true balance of the profits for the periodcovered by such account.
3. (A) As required by Section 143(3) of the Act, we report that:
a) We have sought and obtained all the information and explanations which to the best of our knowledge and beliefwere necessary for the purposes of our audit.
b) In our opinion, proper books of account as required by law have been kept by the Bank so far as it appears from ourexamination of those books, except for the matters stated in paragraph 3(B)(f) below on reporting under Rule 11(g)of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 (as amended) (“the Rules”).
c) Reporting on the accounts of any branch office of the Bank is not applicable due to centralized banking system. Alsorefer paragraph 2(c) above in this regard.
d) The Standalone Balance Sheet, the Standalone Profit and Loss Account, and the Standalone Cash Flow Statementdealt with by this Report are in agreement with the books of account.
e) In our opinion, the aforesaid Standalone Financial Statements comply with the Accounting Standards specifiedunder Section 133 of the Act, to the extent they are not inconsistent with the applicable circulars, master directionsand guidelines issued by the RBI from time to time.
f) On the basis of the written representations received from the directors, taken on record by the Board of Directors,none of the directors is disqualified as on 31 March 2026 from being appointed as a director in terms of Section164(2) of the Act.
g) With respect to the maintenance of accounts and other matters connected therewith, reference is made to ourcomment in paragraph 3(A)(b) above on reporting under Section 143(3)(b) and paragraph 3(B)(f) below on reportingunder Rule 11(g) of the Rules.
h) With respect to the adequacy of the internal financial controls over financial reporting with reference to the StandaloneFinancial Statements of the Bank and the operating effectiveness of such controls, refer to our separate Report in“Annexure A”.
(B) With respect to the other matters to be included in the Auditor’s Report in accordance with Rule 11 of the Rules, in our
opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us:
a) The Bank has disclosed the impact of pending litigations as at 31 March 2026 on its financial position in its StandaloneFinancial Statements. Refer Schedule 12(I) and (II), Schedule 17(C)(18) and Schedule 18 note 18.5 and 31(b) to theStandalone Financial Statements.
b) The Bank has made provision, as required under the applicable law or accounting standards, for material foreseeablelosses, if any, on long-term contracts including derivative contracts. Refer Schedule 17(C)(9) and 17(C)(18), Schedule18 Note 18.5 and 31(b) to the Standalone Financial Statements.
c) There has been no delay in transferring amounts, required to be transferred, to the Investor Education andProtection Fund by the Bank during the year ended 31 March 2026.
d) (i) The management has represented that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, other than as disclosed in
the Schedule 18 note 35 to the Standalone Financial Statements, no funds have been advanced or loaned orinvested (either from borrowed funds or share premium or any other sources or kind of funds) by the Bank to orin any other person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities (“Intermediaries”), with the understanding, whetherrecorded in writing or otherwise, that the Intermediary shall directly or indirectly lend or invest in other personsor entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Bank (“Ultimate Beneficiaries”) or provideany guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries.
(ii) The management has represented that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, other than as disclosed in theSchedule 18 note 35 to the Standalone Financial Statements, no funds have been received by the Bank fromany person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities (“Funding Parties”), with the understanding, whetherrecorded in writing or otherwise, that the Bank shall directly or indirectly, lend or invest in other persons or
entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Funding Party (“Ultimate Beneficiaries”) orprovide any guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries.
(iii) Based on the audit procedures that have been considered reasonable and appropriate in the circumstancesperformed by us, nothing has come to our notice that has caused us to believe that the representations undersub-clause (i) and (ii) of Rule 11(e), as provided under (i) and (ii) above, contain any material misstatement.
e) The final dividend paid by the Bank during the year, in respect of the same declared for the previous year is inaccordance with section 123 of the Act to the extent it applies to payment of dividend. The interim dividend declaredand paid by the Bank during the year and until the date of this audit report is in accordance with section 123 of the Act.
As stated in schedule 18(2) to the Standalone Financial Statements, the Board of Directors of the Bank have proposedthe final dividend for the year which is subject to the approval of the members at the ensuing Annual General Meeting.The dividend declared is in accordance with section 123 of the Act to the extent it applies to declaration of dividend.
f) Based on our examination, which included test checks, the Bank has used accounting softwares for maintainingits books of account which, along with access management tools, as applicable, have a feature of recording audittrail (edit log) facility and the same has operated throughout the year for all relevant transactions recorded in therespective softwares, except that in respect of the accounting software used for maintaining the core bankingsystem, the feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility was enabled at the database level to log any direct datachanges from 4 March 2026 (also, refer Schedule 18 note 36 to the Standalone Financial Statements of the Bank).
Further, where the audit trail was enabled and operated for the respective accounting softwares, we did not comeacross any instance of audit trail feature being tampered with.
Additionally, where audit trail (edit log) facility was enabled and operated in the previous year, the audit trail has beenpreserved by the Bank as per the statutory requirements for record retention.
(C) In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, the provisions ofSection 197 of the Act are not applicable to the Bank by virtue of Section 35B(2A) of the Banking Regulation Act,1949. Accordingly, the reporting under Section 197(16) of the Act regarding payment / provision for managerialremuneration in accordance with the requisite approvals mandated by the provisions of Section 197 read withSchedule V to the Act, is not applicable.
Chartered Accountants Chartered Accountants
Firm Registration No.: 101248W/W-100022 Firm Registration No.: 101048W
Partner Partner
Membership No.: 041870 Membership No.: 116976
UDIN: 26041870IYZEJF2111 UDIN: 26116976MIURTJ9371
Place: Mumbai Place: Mumbai
Date: 18 April 2026 Date: 18 April 2026