Axis Bank has fueled speculation that it may have to raise Capital Even as it expands its footprint in rural India and lends to its medium and small enterprises. it will take advantage of digital Gaining access to deposits in smaller towns with a focus Bharat Bankingthe bank told analysts.

“The capital position remains self-sufficient and has built adequate balance sheet buffers to finance future growth prospects,” Axis Bank Managing Director Amitabh Choudhary told analysts. “The bank will assess capital raising after completion City deal.”

Chaudhary said that the acquisition of City India consumer The property is progressing well and remains on track with potential revenue And cost synergy.

“After the completion of the Citi deal, the quality of customers and the talent pool of Citi will further add to the liability franchisee of the bank,” Chowdhary said. Chowdhary said the private lender is focused on its GPS strategy with an aspiration to reach 18% consolidated ROE on a sustainable basis.

The bank is also scaling up Axis 2.0 – a fully digital bank with complete end-to-end digital solutions. It aims to acquire customers faster and become a digital consumer lending powerhouse.

The bank said its asset quality issues are behind it, which will keep slippages and loan costs under control. Net interest margin has also improved significantly and the bank believes that it has sufficient leverage to offset the increase in deposit costs.

while the bank will continue to make InvestmentIt expects core operating revenue to grow faster than operating expenses, and the bank is committed to bringing down the cost-to-assets ratio to around 2% by the end of FY25.

“The GPS strategy was launched in January 2019 with a target of ROE of 18%; Chowdhary told analysts that the same was achieved in 2QFY23 with consolidated ROE at 18.9% and the company intends to build on this going forward.