Adani-Hindenburg row: Comfortable with our exposure to Adani Group, says Axis Bank

Private sector lender Axis Bank has reported its exposure to Adani group firms amid the continuing uproar over the Hindenburg report on magnate Gautam Adani and his behemoth Adani Group, which is now struggling from its collapsing market value for the last several days.

Axis Bank said on Saturday that, its exposure to the entities of the Adani Group amounts to 0.94 per cent of all outstanding net advances on December 31. According to the lender, the majority of the operational firms in ports, transmission, power, gas distribution, roads, airports, etc. are where it has exposure to the Adani Group.

"Our exposure to Adani Group is primarily to the operating companies in the Ports, Transmission, Power, Gas Distribution, Roads, Airports etc," the bank said.

The Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, is facing a massive rout in the stock market after US-based short-seller NAME published a scathing report in January that has cratered its shares and prompted calls from opposition lawmakers for a wider probe and the central bank to check on banks' exposure to the conglomerate.

Earlier this week, RBI sought details on the exposure of various financial institutions. Till now, State bank of India (SBI), Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bank of Baroda (BoB) have disclosed their exposures in Adani companies.  

SBI chairman Dinesh Khara on Friday said that the bank’s total exposure to Adani Group is 0.9 per cent of the overall loan book, which is around Rs 27,000 crore.

LIC holds a 4.23 per cent stake in Adani enterprises, a 9.14 per cent stake in Adani Ports and a 5.96 per cent in Adani Total Gas.

Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda have exposures of Rs 7,000 crore and Rs 5,380 crore, respectively.

Both the RBI and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have reassured everyone that this financial fiasco will not affect India’s image and financial prowess.

“As the regulator and supervisor, the RBI maintains a constant vigil on the banking sector and on individual banks with a view to maintain financial stability. The RBI has a Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) database system where the banks report their exposure of Rs 5 crore and above which is used for monitoring purposes," said RBI in a statement.

"They (SBI and LIC) have very clearly said that their exposure is very well within the permitted limits and that they are even now with a valuation falling as well, they are still sitting over profits," Sitharaman said.

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