Axis Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Chaudhry strongly believes India is one of the best options for someone to expand globally. In a conversation with CNBC-TV18 Managing Editor Shereen Bhan on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at the Swiss resort town of Davos, on Monday, January 15, Chaudhry said: "We are a great option today for anyone who's not looked at India before or wants to expand its presence globally."
He also shared his views on the recent decisions taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to rein in unbridled credit growth, especially in the retail segment.
"RBI is worried about some of the exuberance they're seeing on the credit growth side, especially on retail loans. And specifically on the unsecured loans," Chaudhry said.
The banker said he believes RBI is giving a clear signal that it wants the market to temper down the growth and to watch out for credit risks, particularly by some of the smaller players in the system, including fintechs.
In November 2023, the RBI announced stricter norms for personal loans and credit cards in the form of higher capital requirements. The new regulations entail a 25-percentage-point increase in risk weights for banks and NBFCs, necessitating a higher capital requirement for each loan issued.
On the credit deposit ratio, the Axis Bank MD said that if the RBI were to mandate a number for banks on the credit deposit ratio, every bank would have to re-look at their balance sheets. He also said, "I don’t think the RBI will ever mandate a number."
On the question of whether private capex is showing any signs of picking up, Chaudhry said, "We have to appreciate that the government is the big spender right now, especially on capex.: He added that private capex would pick up once there is clarity on the election results.
On cybersecurity being a key concern for banks, the Axis Bank CEO said, "Cybersecurity frauds not only impact the reputation of the firm, but the customers who go through digital frauds become complete naysayers because they believe somewhere that institution could have done something to stop them from falling for the digital fraud."
For the full interview, watch the accompanying video
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
First Published: Jan 15, 2024 10:22 PM IST
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