Axis Bank expanding branches to raise more deposits: Deputy MD Rajiv Anand

Axis Bank is expanding its branch network to raise more deposits, Rajiv Anand, Deputy Managing Director of the private lender said on Friday. The competition among lenders to shore up more deposits is nudging them to open fresh branches across the country and this battle is unlikely to abate soon, Anand had told Bloomberg TV last year.

During the last quarter of the financial year 2023-24, the bank added 125 branches, and with it the total number of branches opened in FY24 reached 475. The bank now has 5,377 branches.

“We are working on deposits by expanding our branches and thanks to the Citi bank acquisition, we have salary accounts which will be helpful,” he said.

Axis Bank completed the acquisition of Citibank India’s consumer banking business effective March 1, 2023.

Anand said that the acquisition of Citibank India’s consumer businesses has been helpful in deposit mobilisation due to increased number of salary accounts.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, in his monetary policy statement on June 7, had urged banks to rework their business plans to address the ongoing disparity between credit and deposit growth rates.

This gap poses challenges in managing liquidity, re-pricing, and rollover risks.

“The persisting gap between credit and deposit growth rates warrants a rethink by the boards of banks to re-strategise their business plans. A prudent balance between assets and liabilities has to be maintained,” Das said in his statement.

According to latest RBI data, banks’ deposit growth was 12.2 per cent year-on-year till May 31, while credit growth was 16.1 per cent. The numbers exclude the impact of the merger of HDFC with HDFC Bank.