State-owned Bank of Baroda has set its sights on a significant expansion of its corporate lending portfolio for the 2027 fiscal year. Despite broader concerns regarding a slowdown in private capital expenditure, the bank is targeting a 10 percent growth rate for its corporate book. With a robust pipeline of new loan proposals, the lender is positioning itself to capitalize on growing demand within India’s core industrial sectors.
Bank of Baroda’s Managing Director and CEO, Debadatta Chand, revealed that the bank currently manages a corporate book valued at ₹4.56 lakh crore. The institution has identified a fresh pipeline of big-ticket lending opportunities totaling ₹50,000 crore. Crucially, nearly two-thirds of these proposals are for term loans, signaling a healthy appetite for long-term investment and capacity building rather than just short-term working capital needs.
The bank is seeing particularly strong demand from the renewable energy sector, as well as core industries such as steel and cement. Mr. Chand noted that half of the current ₹50,000 crore pipeline has already been sanctioned and is awaiting disbursement, while the remainder is currently under active discussion. Regarding the telecom sector, the bank suggested that with the right policy measures and collaboration between stakeholders, there is potential for fresh credit inflow to support industry revival.
To maintain financial stability, the bank aims to keep its net interest margins within the 2.75 to 2.95 percent range. To achieve this, Bank of Baroda plans to realign its corporate portfolio toward external benchmark-based lending rates. This strategic shift is designed to leverage hardening government security yields to ensure better spreads. As the cost of deposits remains high, the bank is focusing on optimizing its yield on advances to ensure sustainable profitability while supporting India’s industrial growth trajectory.
