Loan book of Axis Bank's GIFT City unit doubles to $4 billion in 5 years

Private lender Axis Bank on Wednesday said the asset book of its IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar has doubled to $4 billion from $2 billion in 2019.

The bank unveiled a spacious IBU office at GIFT City here that spans nearly 8,000 square feet and is nearly three times bigger than the previous facility located here.

"In terms of size, today our asset book here is a little over $4 billion, which is among the largest in GIFT City. Similarly, on the liability side, we have a $ 1 billion deposit, which once again makes us among the highest in terms of deposits as well...from $2 billion in 2019, we have doubled our asset book," its Deputy Managing Director Rajiv Anand told mediapersons.

"The office is an expression of our ambition aligned with the ambition for GIFT City to serve our customers. We continue to show very solid growth on multiple fronts," said Axis Bank's President and Head of Wholesale Banking Products Vivek Gupta.

The bank's senior leadership said that since 2019 when the bank decided to consolidate its international business at GIFT City and made it the first port of call for all the new transactions and existing corporate books transferred from other foreign centres, its IBU branch became the fulcrum of all the overseas activity.

The team also picked up slowly, growing from six to 35 members today, with the new office having the capacity for 65 people. The bank built up its capabilities around segments such as corporate banking, trade finance, and capital market operations to support these activities, they added.

Axis Bank is also one of the few banks having a standalone treasury at GIFT City from initial outset, they said.

Anand said that capital market and trade finance will be major areas of focus for Axis Bank at GIFT City going forward.

The bank's further growth at GIFT City depends on how much funding is required by corporate India over the next one year, and within that how much of foreign currency requirement will be there for corporates, he said.

GIFT City is India's first international financial services centre, providing world-class banking services locally and reducing reliance on offshore financial hubs.