Indian banks' dividend to rise to at least 7-year high in FY24 - S&P Global

AU Small Finance Bank

24/08/2023 10:43

MUMBAI, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Indian banks' aggregate
dividend payout to shareholders is set to rise to its highest
level in at least seven years in 2023-2024, helped by strong
business metrics and healthy credit growth, a report from S&P
Global Market Intelligence showed.
    India's brisk economic activity will likely "sustain high
credit growth," resulting in "excellent" earnings forecasts for
banks," Tusharika Aggarwal, a dividend forecasting research
analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence said in the report
released on Thursday.
    Axis Bank  AXBK.NS , Bandhan Bank  BANH.NS  and AU Small
Finance Bank  AUFI.NS  will lead dividend payout increases in
the next few years, Aggarwal said.
    Lenders reported healthy growth in net profits last fiscal
year and in the first quarter of this financial year on
accelerating credit growth and shrinking bad loans.
    Banks will likely account for 13% of the aggregate dividend
payout across all sectors this fiscal year ending March 31, up
from 12% and 9% in the previous two financial years, per the
report.
    This share was barely 1% in 2020-2021, when the Reserve Bank
of India asked lenders to conserve cash and suspend dividend
payments due to COVID-19.
    

 (Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
 ((Siddhi.Nayak@thomsonreuters.com; +91 22 6921 7848;))