Axis Bank reported a 23% year-on-year jump in gross advances to Rs 13.85 lakh crore for the September quarter, but the headline figure masks a quieter reality: strip out the Rs 44,900 crore of standby letters of credit tied to FCNR(B) deposits and underlying loan growth drops to 18.8%. The bank disclosed the adjustment in the same breath as the headline number, a rare moment where the footnote does more work than the title.
The FCNR distortion
The $4.69 billion in standby letters of credit issued against foreign currency non-resident deposits inflates both sides of the balance sheet. Without them, total deposits would have grown 17% year-on-year instead of the reported 20.7%, and term deposits 21.3% rather than 27.3%. The sequential picture is even starker: quarter-on-quarter advance growth falls from 8.8% to 5.3%, and deposit growth from 5.8% to 2.6%. The bank treats the FCNR(B) window as a funding tool; the market will treat it as a distortion.
CASA drift continues
Current and savings account deposits rose 10.6% year-on-year to Rs 5.296 lakh crore but crawled just 1.5% sequentially. Term deposits, meanwhile, surged 27.3% annually and 8.4% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 9.225 lakh crore. The mix shift is unambiguous: the bank is paying up for sticky funding while low-cost deposits stagnate. CASA ratio math is left as an exercise for the reader, but the direction is clear.
Moghe exits south
Sanjeev Moghe, Group Head of Branch Banking for the South region and a designated Senior Management Personnel, resigned on October 4 to pursue an external opportunity. He stays until October 30. The bank offered no further context. In a franchise where branch banking still drives liability gathering, the departure of the southern chief mid-quarter is a data point the disclosure treats as administrative.
Market takes it in stride
Shares closed Monday at Rs 1,222.20, up 0.42% on the NSE, in a range of Rs 1,216.40 to Rs 1,237.40. The stock is down 4% year-to-date, valuing the bank at Rs 3.81 lakh crore. The figures remain provisional and subject to limited review by statutory auditors, a reminder that even the adjusted numbers are, for now, the bank's own draft.