The Indian banking space is dominated by two giants — SBI and HDFC Bank. Their strength lies in their asset quality and market outreach. In the last five years, two other banks — ICICI and Axis — have also been on a clean-up drive to improve their asset quality. This has led to an increase in their stock prices by 245% and 137%, respectively, outperforming the Nifty Bank Index which grew 135% during the same period.

5-Year Stock Price Momentum of Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and Nifty Bank Index Source: Trading View

In banking, the primary aspect to look for is book value. It stems from the quality of a bank’s assets — its loan portfolio — which comprises performing assets (borrowers paying on time) and non-performing assets (NPAs) (defaults). Current and Savings Accounts (CASA) are the che

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