Mobility paves Samsung’s silver path
The Korean giant’s early bet on mobile phones helped it hit the $10-bn mark in India, but in its 25th year it ...
Private sector lender Axis Bank, which has witnessed robust retail spends and demand ― higher than pre-Covid-19 levels in many segments ― believes that the trend will continue until the year end, following which much would depend on the news on the vaccine development front.
“Right now, we are seeing a mix of pent-up and festive demand. In December again, we will see a lot of people travelling and going on holidays. If the news flow on the vaccine continues to be positive and availability is there in reasonable sight... that would give comfort to people to go out and spend,” said Sumit Bali, President and Head, Retail Lending and Payment, Axis Bank.
He is confident about the growth prospects ahead.
Also read: Big story | What’s behind India Inc’s earnings revival
“We will continue to grow the retail book, which is profitable. There was some pain this year due to low growth and moratorium, but the pace of growth will keep improving. Ideally, we would like to maintain a 50-50 split between corporate and retail books,” he said.
In an interaction with BusinessLine, Bali, who joined Axis Bank earlier this year, said the lender has been registering month-on-month growth in both disbursements and collections.
“Collections on the secured product side is back to the pre-Covid-19 level and is looking good. The unsecured segment is also improving month-on-month,” he noted.
In terms of disbursements, Bali said segments including mortgages ― home loan, loan against property, and affordable housing ― along with small business banking and loans for cars, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles, have been growing.
“On all our secured businesses, we are higher than pre-Covid level,” he said, adding that the bank has been moderating the pace of growth for personal loan, cards, and unsecured business instalment loans.
“We are also calibrating business growth and want to be sure as to how the data is emerging post moratorium getting over. October gave us some more confidence over September; November is similar,” he said.
Also read: Axis Bank revises Max Life deal; to acquire up to 19% stake along with subsidiaries
The lender has registered strong growth in credit card spends.
Categories like hotels, travels and restaurants that were almost nil in the initial months after the pandemic are also registering activity.
“Our sense is that post Diwali, there will be a lull for 10 to 15 days after which the year-end rush for holidays will start. Customers are back to travelling. December is likely to be a good month. The only piece missing would be overseas spend, but besides that almost everything is back,” Bali said.
In its second quarter results, the bank had reported that card fees and retail loan processing fees had recovered with 76 per cent and 237 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth reflecting sequential pick-up in spends and disbursements.
The Korean giant’s early bet on mobile phones helped it hit the $10-bn mark in India, but in its 25th year it ...
Antrix should adopt a different tactic than merely fighting over jurisdiction: Experts
Invest in relationships, enterprise, behaviour, effort and learning
From different types of osmoses to new membranes, researchers have come up with ways of drawing water
High valuation and stiff competition from larger players are a dampener
Will a stock continue its current trend or will it reverse? We tell you how you can read chart patterns to ...
Most AMCs have been sending out cryptic e-mails. We tell you how to read between the lines
Slew of factors are building a good foundation for the bulls to work their way up
In these isolated times when people yearn for a slice of the familiar, amateur and professional chefs are ...
‘You ready to go to work?’ Joe Biden had asked Kamala Harris before naming her as his running mate. ‘Oh my ...
Writer Narendra’s latest book, rich with vignettes from Bastar and his native village in Uttar Pradesh, ...
On the eve of his 86th birthday, a peek into an interview-based book that reveals the actor’s many moods, ...
Digital is becoming dominant media, but are companies and their ad agencies transforming fast enough to make a ...
Slow Network, promoted by journalist-lyricist Neelesh Misra, pushes rural products and experiences
How marketers can use the traditional exchange of festive wishes meaningfully
For Fortune, a brand celebrating its 20th anniversary, it was a rude shock to become the butt of social media ...
Three years after its inception, compliance with GST procedures remains a headache for exporters, job workers ...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of companies are altering the prospects for wooden toys of ...
Aequs Aerospace to create space for large-scale manufacture of toys at Koppal
And it has every reason to smile. Covid-19 has triggered a consumer shift towards branded products as ...
Please Email the Editor