India's Best Banks 2011 - Winners

The 2011 edition of the Business Today-KPMG Best Banks study has thrown up some suprises. Private sector major HDFC Bank was the undisputed leader from 2003 to 2008, but when it pounced on Centurion Bank to acquire size, it lost out on many performance parameters and the top slot.

A public sector bank - Bank of India - rose to the top in 2009 when the global financial meltdown affected many a bank in the country. A year later, Axis Bank came out tops.

Here are the winners -

BEST LARGE BANK
Bank of Baroda

Above: Chairman and Managing Director M.D. Mallya at the Turf Club, Mumbai.

Winning Strategies:

• Back office functions moved to hub, so branch staff can spend time with customers
• Emphasis on improving quality of credit portfolio
• Return on equity doubled over the past five years
• Good operational efficiency, second highest return on capital employed
• Higher provisioning than peers for non-performing assets
• Strong presence in industrially progressive states such as Gujarat and Maharashtra
• Integrated human resources programme for succession planning, experience and drive

BEST MID-SIZED BANK
IndusInd Bank

Change Agents: (From left) Suhail Chander, Head - Corporate and Commercial Banking, IndusInd Bank; Kalpathi Sridhar, Chief Risk Offi cer; Romesh Sobti, Managing Director and CEO; Sumant Kathpalia, Head - Consumer Banking; Paul Abraham, Chief Operating Officer.

Sobti has followed a brick-by-brick approach to smartly expand the IndusInd Bank portfolio. He plugged the biggest product gap at the bank - home loans - by tying up with housing major Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd.

BEST SMALL BANK & BEST SMALL BANK (PRODUCTIVITY & EFFICIENCY)
JPMorgan Chase

"With our global network, we can leverage our understanding of different markets and service clients better than any local bank," says CEO Kalpana Morparia (above).

MOST CONSISTENT LARGE BANK
Axis Bank

Above: CEO & MD Shikha Sharma

Key changes in top leadership, a strong brand, durable relationships and a welldiversified revenue portfolio have been its growth drivers since 2008.

GROWTH, QUALITY OF ASSETS (LARGE BANKS)
YES Bank

Above: CEO & MD Rana Kapoor

One of India's youngest banks, YES Bank is also among the fastest growing. This year, it joined the likes of Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank in the large banks' category, at No. 4.

PRODUCTIVITY & EFFICIENCY (LARGE BANKS)
IDBI Bank

IDBI Bank's Chairman and Managing Director R.M. Malla (above) believes the bank's improved productivity and efficiency are directly related to the fresh blood infused after 2004.

GROWTH (MID-SIZED BANKS)
Dhanlaxmi Bank

The failure of its 2008 rights issue sparked the turnaround of Kerala-based Dhanlaxmi Bank. Taking a cue from investors, Chairman G.N. Bajpai decided to make some structural changes. To begin with, he hired a new MD & CEO, Amitabh Chaturvedi (above), in October 2008.

QUALITY OF ASSETS (MID-SIZED BANKS)
Karur Vysya Bank

Above: MD & CEO K. Venkataraman

Pursuing aggressive growth without compromising asset quality is a challenge for any bank. But the 95-year-old Karur Vysya Bank has done it with ease.

PRODUCTIVITY & EFFICIENCY (MID-SIZED BANKS)
City Union Bank

Above: MD & CEO N. Kamakodi

With 107 years behind it, City Union Bank, based in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, may be the oldest private bank in the country. But when it came to embracing technology - bank automation and core banking - it was among the fastest.

GROWTH, QUALITY OF ASSETS (SMALL BANKS)
Mizuho Corporate Bank

Above: India CEO Ikuo Shinjo

Like Karur Vysya Bank, Mizuho Corporate Bank, the Indian arm of Japan's Mizuho Financial Group, has also achieved high growth without compromising asset quality.

QUALITY OF ASSETS (SMALL BANKS)
Bank of America

Above: Country Head and President Kaku Nakhate

For a bank growing at over 20 per cent annually, maintaining asset quality can be tough. But not for Bank of America, which boasts zero per cent net NPA, or non-performing assets.