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Informist, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026

 

--Axis Bank MD: See interest rate hike by RBI in December 

--CONTEXT: Axis Bank MD Chaudhry speaking at Global Fintech Fest 2026 

--Axis Bank MD: Flows through FCNR(B) deposits may lead to higher lending

 

MUMBAI – Axis Bank Ltd.'s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Chaudhry said he expects the Reserve Bank of India to raise interest rates at the December meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee. "I think we are staring at some rate hike in the near future... if not October, it should be December," he said at a panel discussion at the Global Fintech Fest 2026.

 

At the same discussion, Christine Tan, head of financial institutions group sales for Asia Pacific at J.P. Morgan, said the US Federal Open Market Committee is likely to raise key interest rates by 25 basis points at its September meeting. "I think the sentiment is already 50% in terms of 25 basis points (hike)," Tan said.

 

Inflows through foreign currency non-resident (banks) deposits between Jun. 8 and Aug. 31 may lead to "abnormal lending" by banks amid excess liquidity in the system, Chaudhry said. According to data from the RBI, FCNR(B) deposits of $127.27 billion were received under the special scheme from Jun. 8 to Aug. 31.

 

Currently, the Reserve Bank of India's repo rate is at 5.25%. The Fed funds target rate is 3.50-3.75% and the market sees over 60% chance of a 25-bp rate hike at the September meeting of the US Federal Open Market Committee.

 

Talking about real-time cross-border transactions, Tan said multiple innovations are taking place in real-time payments across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "Now, from a cross-border standpoint, we are hopeful that that will also then be adopted.... We are working with NPCI (National Payments Corp. of India) also specifically on the cross-border payment side of things that we can support them in the jurisdictions that we operate in," she said.

 

Chaudhry said cyber security is a major concern for Axis Bank. At the same time, he said, it is a huge development opportunity. "The second priority is to become an all-weather franchise and build our deposits, especially the deposit franchise, and make it more pre-managed... And third is to be more customer-obsessed," he said. "I want to be known as the bank which is providing the best possible customer service in this country."  End

 

US$1 = INR 95.10

 

Reported by J. Navya Sruthi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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