Many one-offs dent Axis Bank's Q2 show

The lender's results missed Street estimates by a significant margin

After showing hopes of a rebound and levelling of asset quality issues in the June quarter, the Street had reasonable expectations from Axis Bank. But these were shattered because of a surprise sprung from an unexpected front. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as part of its risk-based supervision exercise for FY17, highlighted divergence in provisioning for loan assets made by the bank. And, as required by the RBI, Axis Bank provided Rs 1,315 crore for this. With this divergence provided for in the September quarter (Q2), the bank’s results missed Street estimates by a significant margin. Even as net