RBI aims to get inflation down to 4%, don't expect any rate cut this year: Amitabh Chaudhry, MD, Axis Bank
Axis Bank may have cleaned up its bad loans and reoriented the business, but it has a long way to go in terms of market share and dominance in various segments, says chief executive Amitabh Chaudhry. The Reserve Bank of India would only tighten and not loosen regulations given the threats from technology and weak lending practices, Chaudhry tells ET. Edited excerpts:
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Interest rates are debated widely and even two members of the Monetary Policy Committee are voting for a cut. How do you see this?
I think the pause will continue for some time. The RBI has actually floated a balloon looking at an 8% GDP growth rate. They believe that if 8% GDP growth can be delivered, they would like to attack inflation and get it down to 4%. And if that is the case, then why will they cut rates? So, I don't see any reason why cutting rates would happen in a hurry. And once you're down the path of cutting rates, you don't want to kind of go back up. So, you have to be sure that when you start cutting rates, it's headed in that direction. We don't expect any rate cut this year.
The RBI is worried about the retail segment. Is there a bubble?
We are not seeing signs (of bubbles) in our portfolio. But yes, we have to be extremely watchful. In case of loans, which are given digitally end to end, you're seeing that when people start delaying the payments, they tend to fall off quickly and
