HDFC Bank Ltd

HDFC Bank Ltd is a private sector bank founded in 1994 and headquartered in Mumbai. It operates 9,689 branches, with total assets of approximately Rs 4,392,417.42 crore on the latest published figures.

HDFC Bank is the largest private sector bank in India, with 9,689 branches and total assets of roughly Rs 43.9 lakh crore. It is also one of the very few Member Institutions to publish a detailed CGSS page of its own, covering scheme highlights, eligibility, benefits and a substantial FAQ, which is a meaningful signal that its branches are equipped to process these cases rather than treating them as an exception.

Its role in the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups. HDFC Bank Ltd is one of 40 institutions registered with the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company as a CGSS Member Institution (NCGTC MLI ID 93, classified as a private sector bank). Member Institutions are the lenders that actually extend credit under the scheme: you borrow from HDFC Bank Ltd, and NCGTC guarantees HDFC Bank Ltd against your default. That guarantee is what allows the facility to be extended to a DPIIT-recognised startup without collateral, with cover of up to Rs 20 crore per borrower, being 85 percent of the amount in default on loans up to Rs 10 crore and 75 percent above that.

What this means in practice. Two things to know before you go in. Its published guarantee fee guidance, 2 percent or 1.5 percent, is one of the only places any lender states the number, and it is useful for modelling your real cost. But its page still quotes the superseded Rs 10 crore ceiling rather than the Rs 20 crore in force since the May 2025 gazette expansion, so do not let a branch anchor your facility size to that figure. Ask for the MSME desk and cite the current notification if needed.

The terms are the bank's, not the scheme's. This is the point founders most often miss. CGSS fixes the guarantee, not the loan. The interest rate, tenure, moratorium, repayment schedule and how the Annual Guarantee Fee is passed through to you are all set by HDFC Bank Ltd under its own credit policy, and they differ materially between Member Institutions for an identical borrower. Nor does registration oblige HDFC Bank Ltd to lend: it appraises you on its normal credit standards first and applies the guarantee second. Approaching more than one Member Institution is almost always worth the effort.