Axis Bank is expanding beyond traditional lending to incorporate comprehensive cash flow management and technology-driven services, focusing on sectors with strong momentum while maintaining disciplined loan growth.
Axis Bank is trying to widen its corporate banking business beyond plain-vanilla lending, betting that fees, transaction services and sticky deposits can deliver growth without forcing it into aggressive price competition, according to an interview with wholesale banking head Vijay Mulbagal in ETBFSI.
Mulbagal said the lender wants to deepen its role across a company’s entire operating network, not just the borrower itself. That includes collections, payments, trade finance, tax-related services and salary accounts, as well as investment banking and wealth management for promoters. The idea is to capture more of the cash flows that move around a corporate client, from suppliers and dealers to employees and overseas counterparties.
Axis Bank already presents its corporate franchise as a broad platform, offering transaction banking, treasury and markets, corporate credit and non-fund-based services such as guarantees and cash-management products. The bank also serves large companies, mid-sized firms, startups, financial institutions and government bodies, underscoring the scale of the ecosystem Mulbagal says it wants to monetise more effectively.
At the same time, the bank is signalling discipline on loan growth. In a separate interview with Live Mint, Mulbagal said Axis was focusing on sectors with stronger momentum, including data centres, commercial property and renewable energy, while avoiding weaker pockets of the market. He said the priority is better underwriting, quicker turnaround and stronger structuring, rather than winning business by cutting prices.
That approach fits with Axis Bank’s recent wholesale-banking strategy. Its latest annual report showed domestic corporate loans rising 24% year on year in 2022-23, while current account deposits increased 17%. The bank also highlighted gains in mid-corporate lending and SME advances, and pointed to products such as blockchain-enabled trade finance as evidence of a push towards more integrated, technology-led corporate services.
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