Axis Bank constantly monitoring IT systems, says management

Axis Bank said they have been working on strengthening IT systems for the last three-four years.

Private sector lender Axis Bank is constantly monitoring its information technology (IT) systems, the management of the bank said on April 24. “We are constantly monitoring IT systems and action on IT systems is key for Axis Bank,” the bank said.

The management of the bank, which included Amitabh Chaudhry, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD and CEO), Rajiv Anand, Deputy MD and Puneet Sharma, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), also said that they have been working on strengthening IT systems for the last three-four years.

Bank's IT

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on April 24 barred Kotak Mahindra Bank from onboarding new customers through its online and mobile banking channels. According to the central bank, serious deficiencies and non-compliance were observed in the areas of IT inventory management, patch and change management, user access management, vendor risk management, data security and data leak prevention strategy, business continuity and disaster recovery rigour and drill, and so on.

Also read: RBI ban to affect Kotak Mahindra Bank's co-branded credit card deals, say experts

And in October 2023, RBI directed state lender Bank of Baroda to stop onboarding new customers through BoB World, the lender’s digital banking application.

“Bank of Baroda to suspend, with immediate effect, any further onboarding of their customers onto the ‘bob World’ mobile application. This action is based on certain material supervisory concerns observed in the manner of onboarding of their customers onto this mobile application,” the central bank said in a press release.

Axis Bank Q4

The bank has reported a net profit of Rs 7,130 crore for fiscal fourth quarter as against a loss of Rs 5,762 crore in the year-ago period after it bought Citi Bank's India consumer division.

The private sector lender's net interest income (NII), the difference between the interest income it earned from lending activities and the interest paid to depositors, came in at Rs 13,089 crore, up 11.47 percent from the previous year's Rs 11,742 crore.

Axis Bank's gross non-performing asset (NPA) stood at 1.43 percent, down from 2.02 percent from the year-ago period. Net NPAs were at 0.31 percent compared to 0.39 percent.

Also read: Axis Bank posts Rs 7,130-cr net profit in Q4; board approves Rs 55,000-cr fundraise

The lender's board of directors has recommended dividend of Rs 1 per equity share of face value of Rs 2 per equity share for the year ended March 31, 2024. the gross slippage ratio of the bank at 1.48 percent, declined 28 bps YoY and net slippage ratio at 0.57 percent.

Provision and contingencies for Q4FY24 stood at Rs 1,185 crores and specific loan loss provisions for Q4FY24 stood at Rs 832 crores. The bank holds cumulative provisions (standard + additional other than NPA) of Rs 12,134 crores at the end of FY24.