Research

Research articles published by Hemindra Hazari.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The air strikes launched by the Indian Air Force on Jaba Top in Balakot, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, have raised the stakes in the escalation of conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in South Asia.  The stock market reaction on the morning of February 26...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Yes Bank is in the cross hairs of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the banking regulator. On February 13, 2019, the bank issued a press release stating that the regulator’s risk assessment report (RAR) for the year ended March 31, 2018 revealed nil divergence, i.e. the bank’s...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The ‘Interim Report of IL&FS and Its Subsidiaries’ dated November 30, 2018  by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), which was submitted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), not only reveals the shenanigans of IL&FS’s senior management but also puts the spotlight...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The press statement issued by ICICI Bank based on the enquiry report headed by Justice (Retd.) Srikrishna to investigate the allegations against Chanda Kochhar appears deliberately confusing and convoluted. While it states that Chanda Kochhar was in violation of the bank’s Code of Conduct, on the more serious charge of...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Yes Bank has appointed Ravneet Gill as the bank’s CEO, effective latest from March 1, 2019, for a 3-year term. The announcement led to a spurt in the bank’s share price, as the leadership issue was finally resolved.  While investors rejoiced, it remains to be seen whether the...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India’s premier federal police investigation agency, finally filed a First Information Report (FIR) and charged Chanda Kochhar, former CEO, ICICI Bank, her husband, Deepak Kochhar and V. N. Dhoot, managing director, Videocon Group, with cheating ICICI Bank in the Rs 32.5 bn Videocon loan...
On January 11, 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)  issued a press release informing the public that “by an order dated January 4, 2019 imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 30 million on Citibank NA India (the bank) for deficiencies in compliance with the RBI instructions on ‘Fit and Proper’ criteria for directors...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Indusind Bank’s reckless decision to provide a Rs 20 bn (8% of the bank’s capital) unsecured bridge loan to IL&FS, an insolvent infrastructure company has led to a significant de-rating of its valuation multiple. In the 3QFY2019 results call, Ramesh Sobti, the bank’s CEO believes that the bank...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The deadline (December 31, 2018) for Uday Kotak, the founder-CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB), to dilute his stake to 20% has come and gone, and shareholders await the wrath of the banking regulator. The regulator had already given an extended time line for the founders to reduce their stake, a...
For the last 5 years, the profitability of HDFC Bank, India’s largest bank by market capitalisation, has declined even though its critical net interest margin (NIM) has remained constant. Interestingly, to maintain its pristine margin, the bank has focused on taking on more risk in the form of unsecured retail loans. Such a...