Shares of ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank on Friday tumbled as much as 4.5 per cent in morning trade following accusations that the lenders have indulged in money laundering.
As many as 140 million customers of HDFC Bank and Axis Bank are expected to face interruption in banking services in the weekend due to the former's system upgrade and the transition of Citi India business to the latter. Both the banks have notified their customers about the interruption in services. HDFC Bank - the country's largest private sector lender with 93.2 million customers - had announced that it will undertake a system upgrade on July 13, wherein it will migrate its core banking system (CBS) to a new engineered platform to enhance customer experience.
Probes come after independent journalist accuses ICICI, HDFC, Axis Bank and cites video recordings collected by him as evidence.
The government said action would be taken against ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank on the basis of an RBI audit report which has detected certain "aberrations", a month after the private banks were accused of money laundering by an online news portal.
Major Indian banks, including Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and RBL Bank, have reported a decline in employee headcount in FY26, attributing the reductions to significant investments in technology and automation yielding productivity gains across operations.
Among Sensex firms, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel and ICICI Bank were among the major gainers. However, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Trent and Infosys were among the laggards.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher in a range-bound trade on Tuesday following gains in Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 90.83 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at 83,697.29 with 13 of its constituents closing higher and 17 in the red.
With a deployment of Rs 2,720 crore in July, MFs' total investment in HDFC Bank in calendar year 2024 (till now) surged to Rs 48,820 crore.
HDFC Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack followed by IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC, Maruti and Bajaj Finance. NSE Nifty fell 171 points to 15,752.40.
HDFC Bank on Tuesday said RBI has given approval to the group to acquire up to 9.5 per cent stake each in six lenders, including ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.
The aim of the department is to check suspected tax evasion by the banking institutions and possible loss of revenue by illegal acts done by authorised individuals.
Among Sensex shares, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharmaceutical, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the gainers. Tata Motors, PowerGrid, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, NTPC, Tata Steel and Adani Ports were the major laggards.
From the Sensex basket, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, NTPC, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries were among the major laggards. Among the gainers, Hindustan Unilever climbed over 5 per cent. Tech Mahindra, Nestle, ITC, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the other major gainers.
Indian stock markets saw a significant rebound, with the Sensex jumping nearly 790 points, primarily fuelled by strong buying interest in telecom, pharma, and private banking shares, despite a volatile trading session and a weakening rupee.
Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies has rejigged his equity portfolios. In his Asia ex-Japan long-only portfolio, he has added Axis Bank (5 per cent weightage) and increased holding in Larsen & Toubro (L&T) by one percentage point. This, Wood said, will be paid for by removing the investment in ICICI Lombard General Insurance and reducing the investments in HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries (RIL) by one percentage point each.
At other bank ATMs, the customers of these banks will be charged beyond three transactions.
India's private-sector banks are likely to lose market share for a second consecutive year in 2025-26, as their loan books continue to expand much slower than overall bank credit.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded sharply by nearly 1 per cent on Monday, driven by strong buying in power, banking, and financial stocks.
Three officials from leading private banks have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a Rs 2,500-crore cyber fraud racket in Gujarat's Rajkot district, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to 20.
Three officials from leading private banks have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a Rs 2,500-crore cyber fraud in Gujarat's Rajkot district, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to 20, according to police reports.
It recorded total income of Rs 54,606 crore (Rs 546.06 billion) and net profit of Rs 9,810 crore (Rs 98.10 billion) on stand-alone basis.
Latest figures for HDFC Bank aren't available.
IndusInd Bank, ITC, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, HDFC, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries are also among top gainers. SE Nifty jumped 52.35 points to finish at 11,322.50.
The RBI said it had not found initial evidence of money laundering against the three banks.
HDFC and HDFC Bank's merger - touted as India's biggest-ever corporate merger - pumped up shares of the two entities on the bourses. Shares of Housing Finance Development Corporation (HDFC) skyrocketed 9 per cent while those of HDFC Bank zoomed 10 per cent. In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSESensex and the Nifty50 indices settled 2.2 per cent higher on Monday.
Moody's downgraded local currency bank deposit ratings.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell for the third day running on Thursday, dragged by continuous selling in HDFC Bank and profit-taking in consumer durables and utility shares. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 313.90 points or 0.44 per cent to settle at 71,186.86. During the day, it tanked 835.26 points or 1.16 per cent to 70,665.50.
From the Sensex pack, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Adani Ports, Maruti Suzuki India, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Asian Paints were among the laggards. Reliance Industries fell the most by 2.38 per cent to close at Rs 1,171.10 apiece.
The April-June quarter (Q1) of the current financial year (FY25) may be soft for banks with loan growth moderation, net interest margin (NIM) pressures, and higher staff and credit costs inching up, according to analysts. Credit growth could ease due to the lagged impact of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tightening and deposit growth has weakened, and the current account and savings account (CASA) ratio has declined 10-370 basis points (bps) quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) for many banks.
After the latest rout, the American depositary receipt (ADR) premium of HDFC Bank to its local shares has shrunk to nearly zero. Shares of HDFC Bank on Thursday fell 3.1 per cent to Rs 1,490, extending its two-day decline to 11 per cent. Meanwhile, the ADR has slumped over 15 per cent in the past two trading sessions.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sent showcause notices to ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, the three private lenders named in the first of three Cobrapost 'sting' cases.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Mahindra & Mahindra, Titan, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and Asian Paints were the biggest gainers. On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Larsen & Toubro and State Bank of India were among the major laggards.
Between March 2022 and September 2023, HDFC Bank added 56,310 employees.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Asian Paints were among the biggest gainers. In contrast, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sun Pharma, NTPC, Wipro, State Bank of India and Power Grid were among the laggards.
From the Sensex pack, Jio Financial Services fell the most by 4.99 per cent. Reliance Industries, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, JSW Steel, HCL Technologies, NTPC, Tata Steel, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC Bank also declined. IndusInd Bank, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, Nestle and Axis Bank were among the gainers.
Axis Bank's acquisition of Citibank's consumer finance business for Rs 12,325 crore - the second biggest deal in the Indian banking sector - is seen as a good deal at a good price. The acquisition enables Axis Bank to close the gap with competition in some key segments such as credit cards. At the same time, there are some key issues that are crucial for the deal's success, apart from the fact that it will take some time for Axis to reap the full harvest of its investment.
Awaiting regulatory approvals for its foray into financial services sector, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has acquired shares in giants like HDFC, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank as part of long-term 'investments'.
Re-rating of Axis Bank's stock may continue in the near-future, believe analysts, as the risk-reward on the stock remains favourable amid healthy financials. The bullish stance comes after the Mumbai-based lender delivered a strong outperformance in the March quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 (Q4FY24) on core pre-provision profit and net profit, with improving asset quality. Axis Bank's net interest margin (NIM) expanded, against expectations, even in a tough market.
Among the Sensex firms, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, NTPC, State Bank of India, Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel were the major gainers. Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, HCL Tech and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the major laggards.
The charges would apply to savings as well as salary accounts
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances