There is more than one reason to believe that ICICI Bank has moved onto greener pastures in 2019. A closer look at ICICI Bank’s Q3 results shows that its retail loans have grown by 22% year-on-year and constitute 59% of the loan portfolio as of December 31, 2018. Further, addition to the bank’s gross non-performing assets has been the lowest in last 14 quarters.
If we focus on the Bank’s Q3 earnings and overall attractive valuation it can be deemed a safe investment bet for the long term. Investors are seeing renewed confidence in the Bank’s performance.
When its erstwhile CEO was under the scanner, ICICI Bank’s Board took necessary action by selecting a reputed and experienced person like Justice Srikrishna to investigate the matter. This is a testament to the fact that the bank left no stone unturned in finding out the truth and in doing so safeguarding the interests of its investors. It took command of the situation and this helped the institution power through the crisis.
Also, Morgan Stanley stated earlier that it expects a stronger performance from the bank’s stock in 2019 complimented by an ongoing improvement in its asset quality trends over the next few quarters.
ICICI Bank on Wednesday issued a statement on findings in the enquiry report of Justice Srikrishna. The conclusions of the report are final and the completion of this investigation will give some closure to the bank’s investors. It has been a challenging year for the bank, but it has weathered the storm and is now well placed to energetically move on.
