Axis Bank

Axis Bank is a leading private sector bank and financial services provider in the country. The Mumbai-headquartered bank’s operations are spread across India and a few countries abroad. The lender is a significant player in both retail and corporate banking segments.

It was previously named UTI Bank from 1993 to 2007. It is the third-largest private sector bank based on assets and holds the fourth position in terms of market capitalisation. The bank caters to the financial needs of large, mid-sized and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as retail businesses.

The market capitalisation of Axis Bank stood at more than ₹3.45 lakh crore as of December 16, 2023. Axis Bank share price has surged nearly 85% in the last three years.

Axis Bank was founded as UTI Bank on December 3, 1993. It was collectively established by the Administrator of the Unit Trust of India (UTI), Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), General Insurance Corporation, National Insurance Company, New India Assurance Company, Oriental Insurance Corporation and United India Insurance Company. The first branch of the bank started operations on April 2, 1994, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Axis Bank business operations

Axis Bank’s service network spreads across urban, rural and semi-urban areas through its branches. In FY23, it expanded its network by adding 145 branches. As per its report for FY23, Axis Bank had over 65,500 banking outlets and more than 60,600 common service centres (CSC), which are operated by village-level entrepreneurs. This also includes 4,910 branches and seven foreign offices as well as extension counters. Axis Bank operates 15,953 ATMs and cash deposit/withdrawal machines.

The global footprint of Axis Bank includes branches in DIFC Dubai and Singapore, along with representative offices in Bangladesh (Dhaka) and the UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah) as well as an offshore banking unit in GIFT City, Ahmedabad.

Over the years, Axis Bank has acquired many entities. The two most prominent among those are Freecharge and Citibank India's consumer banking business. Axis Bank acquired Freecharge, a digital marketplace for financial services for around ₹385 crore in 2017.

The bank completed the acquisition of Citibank India's consumer banking business for an estimated ₹11,949 crore. This acquisition provided Axis Bank Ltd access to a substantial base of 24 lakh Citi customers, along with approximately 3,200 employees from Citibank.

Over the past four years, Axis Bank has significantly expanded its business operations across its subsidiaries, primarily driven by its 'One Axis' strategy.

Financial highlights

The bank’s consolidated revenue for FY 2022-23 stood at ₹87,448 crore. It was 27% up from ₹68,846 crore in FY 2021-22. The bank reported a profit of ₹10,855 crore in FY23 as against a profit of ₹14,168 crore in FY22. The bank’s net interest income (NII) surged in FY23 to ₹42,946 compared to ₹33,132 crore in FY22. Net interest margin (NIM) increased to 4.02% in FY23 from 3.47% in FY22. Profit before tax (PBT) of the bank stood at ₹18,623 crore in FY23 as against ₹18,932 crore compared to the previous fiscal. The bank made a total capital expenditure of ₹84,613 crore in FY23. Earnings per share (EPS) dropped to ₹35.2 in FY23 compared to ₹46.04 in the preceding financial year.