NEW DELHI: Shares of HDFC Bank were trading higher in Wednesday's trade after reports that the bank is expanding its SmartUp zones across niche branches in the IT capital following in the footsteps of RBL and SBI who launched dedicated branches last year.

Following the development, the stock advanced 0.41 per cent to Rs 1,816.30 on BSE. It opened at Rs 1,810 and touched an intraday high and low of Rs 1,826.20 and Rs 1,810 respectively, in the first hour of trade.

More than 35 per cent of all the startup accounts opened after SmartUp launch and are based in Bengaluru, said HDFC Bank in a statement.

It will also be launching the service in 65 branches across 30 cities including states like Bihar, UP and in the North-East region. These zones will exclusively cater to startup requirements including legalities and other compliances and speed up the overall process for the companies by specially trained staff, ET reported.

Promoters held 25.73 per cent stake in the company as of September 2017.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2017, the company reported total revenue at 19,670.28 crore and net profit stood at 4,151.03 crore.

The scrip touched its fresh 52-week high of Rs 1,876.95 on October 24, 2017 and its 52-week low of Rs 1,159.30 on November 25, 2016.