Axis Bank's biggest intraday drop

Axis Bank shares plunged to its biggest intraday drop due to investors' concern regarding its performance after news broke out that the bank might be having debt problem. The bank is currently the worst performance within this two months in the Mumbai Stock Exchange.

India's third-largest private-sector bank by assets saw its shares shed almost 8.7 percent in value in just one day. Besides that, the bank is also the worst performance among Bloomberg Asia Pacific Banks Index's 56 members as the stock plunged 7.3 percent lower based on the index as reported by Bloomberg.

Although there are many factors causing the panic selling, one of the eminent reason is regarding its assets selling. According to Reuters, although Axis Bank reported an increase in its profit for the third July-September quarter, the bank's aggressive asset selling off almost 18.5 billion rupees raises concern among investors.   

The bank post an 18.93 percent increase in its net profit according to Business Today. The total amount of profit is reported to be around 19.2 billion while its gross bad loan is around 1.38 percent of total lending.

Although the situation might be unfavourable for the Axis bank, another analyst is suggesting that the situation is only temporary. According to Nitin Kumar, an analyst for Prabhudas Lilladher Ltd, "Fresh slippages and the sale of bad loans in the quarter suggest that stressed-asset formation at the lender may continue. We are continuing to recommend buying the stock as long-term prospects and annual profit-growth guidance remain intact."

Axis bank also said in a statement that its share will be stable again and still maintain its prospect for next quarter. The bank described its asset selling strategy as a way to maintain its profit and keep the bank operating even during this uncertain economic times.

Among the assets sold by the bank is its two power sector accounts which were sold to Asset Reconstruction Companies for a total of Rs 1,170 crore, a lower value compared to its estimated value of Rs 1,820 crore. The move raises scepticism too among investors who thinks that the bank is performing unregulated transaction regarding the sale.

On a related issue, the news regarding Axis Bank had also dragged other shares in the same sector down. This includes shares of ICICI Bank Ltd which fell 4.4 percent, BSE India Bankex index fell 2.5 percent and the Yes Bank Ltd. also fell 3.1 percent in today trading transaction.