‘Want To Give Tough Competition To HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank,’ Says Amitabh Chaudhry

Axis Bank MD and CEO Amitabh Chaudhry said that the Mumbai-headquartered bank aims to give tough competition to top bankers in India - the Sashidhar Jagdishan-led HDFC Bank and the Sandeep Bakhshi-led ICICI Bank. Chaudhry was speaking at a fireside chat with Udayan Mukherjee, Global Business Editor, India Today Group, at the BT Banking & Economy Summit in Mumbai. On being asked about the tug-of-war between the two banks, Chaudhry harked back to the moment when he joined Axis Bank as its CEO and MD. The Axis Bank boss said, “I made the mistake that when I joined Axis Bank, I said I have not joined Axis Bank to remain number three. I’ve joined Axis Bank to take the situation to a different level otherwise, what is the point? I’ll be well where I was before. So, in that sense, still on that journey. Still very much behind ICICI Bank.” He added that the gap between ICICI Bank and Axis Bank has narrowed and that people tend to identify banks as number two or number three basis their size. He added that the journey to beat the ICICI Bank is a long one and that they also have smart people. Watch.