Axis CEO backs higher NRI deposits

LENDERS WILL USE foreign-currency deposits raised from the Indian diaspora in the next few months to replace expensive funds on their books before channeling money to companies, according to the chief executive officer of Axis Bank, the country’s third-biggest private bank by assets.

- SIDHI NAYAK & SAIKAT DAS

“The first thing banks will do is reduce or pause growth in other very expensive deposits for some time,” Amitabh Chaudhry told Bloomberg News in an interview. Following that, the quickest areas for deployment would be across infrastructure projects, data-center investments, commercial real estate and large capital-expenditure plans, he said.