Mumbai, July 19 -- HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are expected to report a muted performance for the June quarter (Q1FY26), as sustained pressure on margins, sluggish loan growth, and elevated slippages weigh on earnings.

Both banks are scheduled to declare results on Saturday.

The sector-wide margin pressure stems from the 100 basis point cumulative rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India between February and June.

With 40-60% of loan portfolios linked to external benchmarks such as the repo rate, lending rates have declined faster than deposit rates, which adjust with a lag of 3-6 months, exerting pressure on margins.

Both banks, had in Q4 FY25, guided that they expect pressure on margins to sustain in the first half of the current financia...