Margin contracts; low opex and P&C; aid profitability' HDFC Bank Ltd. (HDFCB) reported double digit growth in the net profit and maintained stable assets quality during Q1FY19. While, PAT increased by 18.2% YoY, the growth in NII at 15.4% YoY remained lower than the expectation due to higher cost of deposits, also putting pressure on margin. NIM reduced by 10 bps QoQ to 4.2% during quarter owing to the higher interest cost driven by spike in fixed deposits, interest reversal on agri NPAs and short duration investment book. However, high fee income growth, controlled opex and low provisioning supported...