Axis Bank shares up after Morgan Stanley maintains overweight call over robust asset quality

Shares of Axis Bank fell 1 percent in morning trade. The stock made a U-turn in mid-day trading. At 12:30 pm, it was trading at Rs 661.50, up 0.35 points, or 0.05 percent higher.

The stock has been gaining for the past two days and has risen 0.61 percent in the period.

Credit card spends dip, top four lose market share

According to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Axis Bank — the fourth-largest player in the credit card space — added the highest number of net credit cards at 433,966, followed by HDFC Bank with 263,864, SBI Cards with 245,133, and ICICI Bank with 205,360.

Upward momentum in issuing credit cards continued for the 10th month in a row for Axis Bank. The other three of the top four issuers, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI Card, issued lesser credit cards for the fourth month in a row.

In March, Axis Bank announced the acquisition of Citibank’s consumer business in India for Rs 12,325 crore ($1.6 billion). The consumer business comprises credit cards, retail banking, and wealth management divisions and is expected to boost Axis Bank's might in the market.

The deal is expected to close within a year, although the entire integration process might take another 9-12 months after regulatory approvals.

Axis Bank has also hiked service charges for its salary and savings account holders. The bank has said in a notification that “the tariff structure for savings/salary accounts is being revised from June and July, respectively."