Most of the time, when the street speaks of private and public sector banks, it is, in fact, talking about good and bad banking. Yet, how many PSU banks saw their NPAs rise in the last six years? Hardly any. How many have experienced turbulence due to derivatives? None.
It would thus be good to have a mix of private sector and large PSU banks in your portfolio as the latter have a higher probability of outperforming the market when the sectors they finance catch some tailwinds.
Every sector has a key element that is important to look out for as an investor. In the case of the banking sector, it is NPAs, or non-performing assets. Why the abbreviation before the full form? We react to news before understanding it. News is the abbreviation whose meaning becomes clear only on closer examination.
So, while looking at the Q4 numbers of banks, it is important to look at NPAs. But there is another number which is equally important: Credit growth. It is likely to remain muted. And that in itself is not a bad sign. Asset quality is good and stays that way if NPA numbers are stable and the books are reliable.
This just about explains the current state of the banking sector in India. Is HDFC Bank a good business? An efficient bank? A stock worth owning? The answer to each of these questions could be different depending on when you are asking it and from what perspective.
Many may have forgotten it today, but in the first wave of selling which came in October 2024, it was HDFC Bank which was the leading loser. And drove the Nifty and Sensex down sharply.
However, in the last five months, it is HDFC Bank which has relatively outperformed a bearish and correcting market. Its outperformance also needs to be seen in light of the fact that banking stocks are highly owned by FIIs, whose selling sparked the current correction phase.
Now, if some institutional investors had to choose between selling a non-banking stock and a banking stock, which would they choose?
Coming to the economy, there is talk these days of a slowdown in the rate of growth. Whatever the final number, the fact remains that India would still be one of the fastest-growing large economies in the world.
Now, as banks are the best way to take advantage of the growth of any economy, there is enough reason to stay bullish on them at this point of time.
Just be sure to have a good mix of small and large banks, both from the private and PSU space, in your portfolio. Banks have a higher probability of outperforming the market, especially if sentiment improves in the global markets. And more so after the weightage readjustment for emerging markets.
HDFC Bank Limited is a private sector bank. The Bank caters to a range of banking services covering commercial and investment banking on the wholesale side and transactional/ branch banking on the retail side. The Bank's Treasury segment primarily consists of net interest earnings from the Bank's investment portfolio, money market borrowing and lending, gains or losses on investment operations and on account of trading in foreign exchange and derivative contracts. The Retail Banking segment serves retail customers through the Bank's branch network and other channels. The Wholesale Banking segment provides loans, non-fund facilities and transaction services to large corporates, emerging corporates, public sector units, government bodies, financial institutions and medium scale enterprises. The Other Banking Operations segment includes income from Para banking activities, such as credit cards, debit cards and third-party product distribution, among others.
Bank of Baroda Limited is engaged in providing banking and financial services. Its segments include Treasury, Corporate / Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking and Other Banking Operations. Its geographical segment includes Domestic Operations and Foreign Operations. It offers personal banking services, which include savings accounts, current accounts, and term deposits. It provides a range of digital products, which includes instant banking, such as Internet banking, mobile banking, cards, WhatsApp banking, digital signage systems (DSS), self-service passbook printers, and automated teller machines (ATMs). It offers a range of loans, such as home loan, personal loan, vehicle loan, fintech, education loan, and gold loan. It provides merchant payment solutions, Baroda DigiNext Cash Management Services, BarodaINSTA SmartTrade, Bharat Bill Pay, Bhim Adhaar Baroda Pay and Internet Payment Gateway. It has 8,185 branches and 11,535 ATMs and cash recyclers supported by self-service channels..
Axis Bank Limited is engaged in banking and financial services. The Bank's segments include Treasury, Retail Banking and Corporate/Wholesale Banking. The Treasury segment includes investments in sovereign and corporate debt, equity and mutual funds, trading operations, derivative trading and foreign exchange operations and offers a central funding unit. The Retail Banking segment constitutes lending to individuals/small businesses through the branch network and other delivery channels subject to the orientation, nature of product, granularity of the exposure and the quantum thereof. The Corporate/Wholesale Banking segment includes corporate relationships not included under Retail Banking, corporate advisory services, placements and syndication, project appraisals, capital market-related services, and cash management services. It also offers para banking activities, including third-party product distribution and other banking transactions.
Karur Vysya Bank Limited is a banking company. The Bank is engaged in providing a range of banking and financial services, including commercial banking and treasury operations. The Bank's segments include Treasury, Corporate/ Wholesale banking, Retail banking and Other banking operations. The Treasury segment includes investments in central and state government securities, debt instruments of banks, certificates of deposits, equity shares, mutual funds and security receipts, among others. The Corporate/ Wholesale banking segment includes credit facilities and other banking services provided to corporate and other clients. The Retail banking segment consists of lending and other banking services to individuals/small business customers, other than corporate/ wholesale banking customers. The Other banking operations segment includes para-banking activities like bancassurance, third party product distribution, demat services and other banking transactions.
ICICI Bank Limited is a banking company. The Bank is engaged in providing a range of banking and financial services including commercial banking and treasury operations. The Bank's business segments include Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, Treasury, and Other Banking. The Bank provides a range of products, which includes savings account, women's account, senior citizen account, current accounts, credit cards, home loan, personal loan, car loan, gold loan, fixed deposit, recurring deposit, life insurance, and general insurance. It provides a range of Internet banking services, which includes paying bills, raising service requests, and making transfers. It also offers a range of mobile banking services, which includes iMobile Pay, short message service (SMS) banking, Call to Pay, and immediate payment service (IMPS). Its general insurance products include health insurance, travel insurance, home insurance, two wheeler insurance, and car insurance.
DCB Bank Limited is a banking company. The Bank is engaged in providing banking and financial services. The Bank operates through four segments: Treasury Operations, Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking and Other Banking Operations. Treasury Operations segment includes all financial markets activities undertaken on behalf of the Bank's customers, trading, maintenance of reserve requirements and resource mobilization from other banks and financial institutions. The Wholesale Banking segment includes lending, deposit-taking and other services offered to corporate customers. The Retail Banking segment includes lending, deposit-taking and other services offered to retail customers. Other Banking Operations segment includes para banking activities, such as third-party product distribution, merchant banking and others.
Federal Bank Limited is a banking company. The Bank is engaged in providing banking and financial services, including retail banking, corporate banking and treasury operations. Its segments include Treasury, Corporate/Wholesale Banking and Retail Banking. Its Treasury segment operations include trading and investments in government securities and corporate debt instruments, equity and mutual funds, derivatives, and foreign exchange operations on proprietary accounts and for customers. Its Corporate/ Wholesale Banking segment consists of lending of funds, acceptance of deposits and other banking services to corporates, trusts, partnership firms and statutory bodies. Its Retail banking segment constitutes lending of funds, acceptance of deposits and other banking services to any legal person, including small business customers. The Bank has a network of 1,272 branches in India. It also offers para banking activities, such as debit cards and third-party product distribution.
State Bank of India is a banking and financial services company. The Company's segments include Treasury, Corporate/Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking and Insurance Business. The Treasury segment includes the entire investment portfolio and trading in foreign exchange contracts and derivative contracts. The Corporate/Wholesale Banking segment comprises the lending activities of corporate accounts group, commercial client's group and stressed assets resolution group. The Retail Banking segment comprises retail branches, which primarily includes personal banking activities, including lending activities to corporate customers, and also includes agency business and automated teller machines (ATMs). The Insurance Business segment comprises the results of SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd. and v General Insurance Co. Ltd. It is involved in providing a range of products and services to individuals, commercial enterprises, large corporates, public bodies and institutional customers.
Union Bank of India Limited is a banking company. The Company's segments include Treasury Operations, Corporate and Wholesale Banking and Other Banking Operations. The Company offers products in three categories, including personal, corporate loans and international. Its personal products include accounts and deposits, loans, which includes retail, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), wealth management, financial schemes and lockers/other services. Its corporate loans include trade finance, working capital, line of credit, project financing, and channel finance. Its international services include non-resident Indian speedy and easy remittances, Internet Banking, international debit/credit cards, home loans, special deposit schemes, and online donation facility. It provides digital services, such as app banking, Internet banking, automated teller machine banking and immediate payment service (IMPS). It also provides foreign currency loans.
Canara Bank Limited is a bank. The Bank's segments include Treasury Operations, Retail Banking Operations, Wholesale Banking Operations, Life Insurance Operation and Other Banking Operations. The Bank provides personal banking, corporate banking, non-resident Indians banking, Internet banking, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) banking services. Its retail lending operations include education loans, vehicle loans, housing loans and other personal loans. Its other services include merchant banking, bancassurance and mutual funds and government business. The Bank undertakes government business, comprising direct and indirect tax collections; payment of Central Government and State Government Pensions; handling of postal transactions and State Government treasury transactions; public provident fund scheme and senior citizens' saving scheme, and issuing Sovereign Gold Bonds and Sukanya Samridhi Scheme. It has approximately 10,416 domestic branches.
Punjab National Bank Limited is a bank. The Bank's segments include Treasury, Corporate/Wholesale banking, Retail banking and Other banking operations. The Treasury segment includes the entire investment portfolio and trading in foreign exchange contracts and derivative contracts. The Bank provides various banking services, such as agriculture banking, retail banking, treasury operations, corporate banking, merchant banking, non-resident Indian (NRI) services, depository services, digital banking services and mutual funds. Its depositary services include current deposits, savings deposits, term deposits, recurring deposits, Capital Gain Account Scheme and Gold Monetization Scheme. Its loan portfolio includes retail loans, agriculture loans, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) loans and corporate loans. Its other services include cash management services, export/import finance, gold card scheme for exporters, doorstep banking service and online trading.
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Source Name : Economic Times