Axis Bank to fast-track Axis Finance divestment amid regulatory pressures

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Mint. "It is part of our strategy, and perhaps we may do it earlier than planned. A clear indication from the regulator is that if you can do a particular business in the bank, you should not be doing the business in a subsidiary.

If you want to do that, then there should be a complete arm's length relationship," said Chaudhry. Chaudhry also acknowledged that continual capital injections into non-banking subsidiaries may not be viable in the long term "At some stage in future, if it has to grow, it will have to raise external capital. We don’t necessarily have to list; we can even look at strategic partners to join us," he added.

Axis Finance reported a 26% year-on-year jump in net profit to ₹154 crore in the June quarter. Axis Finance is a much smaller segment than HDFC Bank's subsidiary HDB Financial, which is preparing to get listed. At the end of June, Axis Finance's assets under management stood at ₹34,104 crore, as against HDB Financial's loan book of ₹95,600 crore.

Chaudhry, who will complete five years at the helm of Axis Bank in December, is awaiting RBI's approval for his next term. The board has already given him the approval to continue for three more years until 2027. His vision is to propel the bank from its current No.

3 position to the top, though he has not set a specific timeline. He emphasized that Axis Bank already leads in several business segments and is focusing on three areas: improving customer service, expanding its rural loan portfolio, and driving digital innovation. The bank has launched ‘Sparsh’ an initiative for driving customer satisfaction, where bank officials at could listen to recorded calls of customers at their branches and understand their concerns.