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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
The Sandeep Bakhshi-helmed private lender has moved swiftly to grab a bigger slice of the corporate loan action, posing a threat to what was once HDFC Bank’s bastion.
ICICI Bank is slowly but surely becoming the preferred choice of corporate borrowers in India.
Over the past year, the country’s second largest private lender has closed the gap with the much bigger HDFC Bank, which has seen a decline in the growth of its corporate loan book. As things stand, ICICI Bank’s corporate loan book is now just 42% smaller than HDFC Bank’s; a year ago, the difference in size was 54%. In absolute numbers, ICICI Bank’s corporate loan book stands at Rs 2.8 lakh crore to HDFC Bank’s Rs 4.8 lakh crore.
The result: for the first time …
Aggressive expansion, continued dependence on its parent for business, and an adverse shift in the product mix weigh on profitability as well as investor sentiment.
The beleaguered lender outperformed larger rivals—and itself—on several metrics in FY26, but one-offs and a still weak retail engine keep its investors on edge.
Atanu Chakraborty’s resignation does not appear as damaging as the bank’s response to it. The ‘all is well’ narrative needs an independent audit.
