Axis Bank
Encyclopedia
Axis Bank Limited, formerly UTI Bank, is a financial services firm that had begun operations in 1994, after the Government of India
allowed new private banks to be established. The Bank was promoted jointly by the Administrator of the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India
(UTI-I), Life Insurance Corporation of India
(LIC), General Insurance Corporation Ltd., National Insurance Company Ltd., The New India Assurance Company
, The Oriental Insurance Corporation and United India Insurance Company UTI-I holds a special position in the Indian capital markets and has promoted many leading financial institutions in the country. The bank changed its name to Axis Bank in April 2007 to avoid confusion with other unrelated entities with similar name. After the Retirement of Mr. P. J. Nayak, Shikha Sharma was named as the bank's managing director and CEO on 20 April 2009.
As on the year ended 31 March 2009 the Bank had a total income of and a net profit of .
On 24 February 2010, Axis Bank announced the launch of 'AXIS CALL & PAY on atom', a unique mobile payments solution using Axis Bank debit cards. Axis Bank is the first bank in the country to provide a secure debit card-based payment service over IVR.
The Bank's Registered Office is at Ahmedabad and its Central Office is located at Mumbai. At the end of September 2010, The Bank has a very wide network of more than 1281 branches and Extension Counters (as on 31st December, 2010). The Bank has a network of over 6270 ATMs (as on 31st March, 2011). The Bank has loans now (as of June 2007) account for as much as 70 per cent of the bank’s total loan book of Rs 2,00,000 crore. For HDFC Bank, retail assets are around 57 per cent (Rs 28,000 crore) of the total loans as of March 2007.
In the case of Axis Bank, retail loans have declined from 30 per cent of the total loan book of Rs 25,800 crore in June 2006 to around 23 per cent of loan book of Rs.41,280 crore (as of June 2007). Even over a longer period, while the overall asset growth for Axis Bank has been quite high and has matched that of the other banks, retail exposures grew at a slower pace.
If the sharp decline in the retail asset book in the past year in the case of Axis Bank is part of a deliberate business strategy, this could have significant implications (not necessarily negative) for the overall future profitability of the business.
Despite the slower growth of the retail book over a period of time and the outright decline seen in the past year, the bank’s fundamentals are quite resilient. With the high level of mid-corporate and wholesale corporate lending the bank has been doing, one would have expected the net interest margins to have been under greater pressure. The bank, though, appears to have insulated such pressures. Interest margins, while they have declined from the 3.15 per cent seen in 2003-04, are still hovering close to the 3 per cent mark. (The comparable margins for ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are around 2.60 per cent and 4 per cent respectively. The margins for ICICI Bank are lower despite its much larger share of the higher margin retail business, since funding costs also are higher).
The Bank today is capitalized to the extent of Rs. 409.90 crores with the public holding (other than promoters and GDRs) at 53.63%. It is also listed in the top 100 most trusted brands of India in the Brand Trust Report
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
allowed new private banks to be established. The Bank was promoted jointly by the Administrator of the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India
Unit Trust of India
Unit Trust of India is a financial organization in India.Unit Trust of India was created by the UTI Act passed by the Parliament in 1963. For more than two decades it remained the sole vehicle for investment in the capital market by the Indian citizens. In mid- 1980s public sector banks were...
(UTI-I), Life Insurance Corporation of India
Life Insurance Corporation of India
The Life Insurance Corporation of India is the largest state-owned life insurance company in India, and also the country's largest investor. It is fully owned by the Government of India. It also funds close to 24.6% of the Indian Government's expenses. It has assets estimated of...
(LIC), General Insurance Corporation Ltd., National Insurance Company Ltd., The New India Assurance Company
New India Assurance
New India Assurance is currently the largest General Insurance Company in India based in Mumbai. It is one of the five Public Sector insurance companies in India.It was founded by Dorab Tata in 1919.It was nationalized in 1973....
, The Oriental Insurance Corporation and United India Insurance Company UTI-I holds a special position in the Indian capital markets and has promoted many leading financial institutions in the country. The bank changed its name to Axis Bank in April 2007 to avoid confusion with other unrelated entities with similar name. After the Retirement of Mr. P. J. Nayak, Shikha Sharma was named as the bank's managing director and CEO on 20 April 2009.
As on the year ended 31 March 2009 the Bank had a total income of and a net profit of .
On 24 February 2010, Axis Bank announced the launch of 'AXIS CALL & PAY on atom', a unique mobile payments solution using Axis Bank debit cards. Axis Bank is the first bank in the country to provide a secure debit card-based payment service over IVR.
Branch Network
In the case of Axis Bank, retail loans have declined from 30 per cent of the total loan book of Rs 25,800 crore in June 2006 to around 23 per cent of loan book of Rs.41,280 crore (as of June 2007). Even over a longer period, while the overall asset growth for Axis Bank has been quite high and has matched that of the other banks, retail exposures grew at a slower pace.
If the sharp decline in the retail asset book in the past year in the case of Axis Bank is part of a deliberate business strategy, this could have significant implications (not necessarily negative) for the overall future profitability of the business.
Despite the slower growth of the retail book over a period of time and the outright decline seen in the past year, the bank’s fundamentals are quite resilient. With the high level of mid-corporate and wholesale corporate lending the bank has been doing, one would have expected the net interest margins to have been under greater pressure. The bank, though, appears to have insulated such pressures. Interest margins, while they have declined from the 3.15 per cent seen in 2003-04, are still hovering close to the 3 per cent mark. (The comparable margins for ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are around 2.60 per cent and 4 per cent respectively. The margins for ICICI Bank are lower despite its much larger share of the higher margin retail business, since funding costs also are higher).
The Bank today is capitalized to the extent of Rs. 409.90 crores with the public holding (other than promoters and GDRs) at 53.63%. It is also listed in the top 100 most trusted brands of India in the Brand Trust Report