Banks Stocks

Union Bank of India's shares dropped 6% to ₹141.54 on July 09, after a Q1FY26 update revealed a QoQ decline in deposits and loan growth. Gross advances fell 0.85% QoQ, while deposits decreased 2.54% QoQ, though both showed YoY improvements.

ESAF Small Finance Bank's share price surged 11.5% to ₹34 after announcing the sale of a stressed asset pool worth ₹735.18 crore to an ARC. This includes ₹362.43 crore in NPAs and aims to improve asset quality.

Most small and mid-cap (SMID) private banks have recently delivered steady credit growth, with standouts like Federal Bank, CSB Bank, RBL Bank, and IDFC First Bank. Others, such as Karur Vysya Bank, opted for measured but profitable growth.

ICICI Bank reported strong Q2FY25 results with a core RoA of 3.1%, outperforming peers amid sector pressures. Its focus on quality assets led to a resilient balance sheet. Analysts raised target prices, with a 'buy' rating maintained, highlighting ICICI's effective cost controls and growth.

The banks delivered 13% year-on-year (YoY) earnings growth during the quarter ended December, led by 11% YoY Net Interest Income (NII) growth and around 45% YoY decline in provisions.

Anand Rathi believes that large-cap private banks have a better risk-reward than others in BFSI, as the government loosens its purse strings, improving the banking liquidity coupled with the robust underlying credit demand.

The Nifty 50 witnessed a morning trade dip of 286 points, pushing the index to trade below the 21,300 level for the first time in CY24. The S&P BSE Sensex plummeted by another 834 points in today's early morning trade, falling below 71,000 level, reaching 70,665 points.

Leading this downward trend was HDFC Bank, the country's largest private sector bank, with its shares plummeting by 8.44% to ₹1,537.50 apiece in today's trade. This marks the most significant intraday drop since 2020.

Banking and financial stocks bled out on Wednesday with both the Nifty Bank index and the Nifty Financial Services index down over 2.5 percent each post HDFC Bank December quarter results, announced yesterday.