Banking stocks turning attractive for retail investors
Indian banks delivered healthy earnings during Q2/ FY24
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The Indian banking system consists of 12 public-sector banks, 22 in the private-sector, apart from foreign and cooperative banks. Over the last one year-to-date the Banking Index has delivered a return of 9.29 per cent.
Post the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) coming in place, most of the non-performing assets of the Indian Banking system have come to a resolution, either it has been paid off or has taken through the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) route.
If we look at the non-performing assets of most of the public sector and private banks, the gross non-performing assets and the net non-performing assets have drastically come down.
The Indian banks delivered healthy earnings during the second quarter of FY24, but the performance was marked by slowing momentum.
The lenders reported net profit growth of 33 per cent year-on-year (YoY) led by a reduction in credit costs.
While loan growth during Q2FY24 was comfortable at around 15 per cent YoY for banks, net interest margin (NIM) declined for most led by re-pricing of cost of deposits and bank loans.
Asset quality improved sequentially for public and private banks. The combined profit of 12 Indian public sector banks (PSBs) in Q2FY24 jumped 31 per cent to Rs 33,643 crore as compared to Rs 25,684 crore recorded in the same period of last year.
The gross non-performing assets ratio of the bank dropped to 4.62 per cent in Q2FY24 from 9.67 per cent in Q2FY23, while the net non-performing assets ratio stood at 1.64 per cent in Q2FY24, down from 2.95 per cent in Q2FY23.
We believe with the non-performing assets cycle coming down, we are witnessing a good credit growth and with strong government policy, public sector banks look attractive and should be a good buy from these levels too.
We are bullish on a few names in the public sector, the likes of Union Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank while in the private banks Axis Bank and ICICI Bank looks promising.
(Rajesh Kumar Jain is an Associate Director and Head of Private Client Business at Anand Rathi Group)
