IBN - ICICI Bank: The 'All Weather' Indian Bank
2024-03-17 23:32:03 ET
Summary
- ICICI Bank has turned the page on its scandal-hit past.
- There are challenges on the horizon, but the group is well-placed to weather the storm.
- The valuation is a hurdle but by no means an insurmountable one.
India's second-largest diversified banking group, ICICI Bank (IBN), has come a long way since its governance lapses under ex-CEO Chanda Kochhar. Current CEO Sandeep Bakshi has not only been scandal-free (so far) but has also checked all the right fundamental boxes. The bank's most recent quarter was a case in point - in contrast with key peer HDFC Bank (HDB), which saw erosion on all sides of the P&L, ICICI Bank showed much better resilience and a clear path to defending its margins going forward. To be clear, the path ahead won't be without speedbumps, as system liquidity, even after recent injections, remains very tight in India; as a result, competition for low-cost deposits will continue to be intense into the coming months....
ICICI Bank: The 'All Weather' Indian Bank