New Research Reports

We hosted Karur Vysya Bank (KVB)’s senior management in Chennai. Investors discussions were centred around the SME portfolio’s health, especially export-oriented units amidst higher US tariffs and change, if any, in the operating environment for the SME units.

Diversified revenue streams alongwith pan India presence: The company derives 60% of its revenue from broking & related services, 23% from nonbroking (14% from interest on MTF book and 9% from distribution) while the balance other income from operations. Alongwith multi-channel distribution network as described above, the company has pan India client base with Tier 1...

De-risking legacy book and building healthy portfolio: South Indian Bank's pre2020 defaults in corporate exposures and Covid related delays spiked NPAs to 5.9% in FY22, forcing large provisions that hammered profitability. The bank has since derisked sharplylegacy stressed book down from 65,349 crore (63% of advances in FY22) to 16,973 crore (19% in FY25) via recoveries/exitsdriving GNPA to 3.2%, NNPA to 0.9%, and PCR to 85%, with ~98% of corporate book now being AAA/A+ rated. Newly originated granular retail/MSME and selective corporate lending shines pristine (GNPA 0.46%), backed by tighter underwriting, digital platforms, and robust collections, with fresh slippages easing to 1.5% for sustained turnaround. Recalibrating the mix remain core strategy: Management is driving a structural...

Over its operational history of three decades, it has built entrenched client relations through a robust suite of digital platforms, which helps it to maintain the highest average revenue per client of INR 29,347 in FY25 (in the broking industry), driven by its mature customer base and personalized engagement approach.

AU Small Finance Bank (AUBANK) remains an attractive combination of growth and earnings as the bank navigates through the last leg of stress in the MFI and Cards segments.

Riding the Gold Loan Surge

IPO Note

Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) has aligned its loan trajectory with a disciplined target of 1.5-2.0x, while consciously improving business granularity by focusing on the retail and SME segments.

The stage-3 asset ratio in the gold loan portfolio declined to 2.58% in Q1FY26 from 3.98% a year earlier, supported by customer-led repayments aided by rising gold prices and flexible repayment options....

We recommend a BUY on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,461/share, implying an upside of 10% from the CMP.

The opportunities for the entire Indian capital market ecosystem over the next decade, with a rising financialization trend but low penetration (demat penetration at 15% vs 60%+ in the US), continue to be immense (highlighted in our capital market thematic report).

We hosted Aadhar Housing Finance (Aadhar) in Singapore for an investor roadshow.

We recommend a BUY on the stock with a target price of Rs 214/share, implying an upside of 10% from the CMP.

For Karur Vysya Bank (KVB), recovery from technical written-off (RTWO) contributed ~57bps to RoA (pre-tax) of ~2.3% for FY25. We note that disclosures and accounting for RTWO vary across banks; yet, KVB appears to exhibit the highest contribution from RTWO.

Bajaj Housing Finance (BHFL) is the fastest-growing and the second-largest HFC in India, with a five-year AUM CAGR of ~29% over FY20-FY25. It had an AUM of INR1.2t as of Jun’25.

We expect yield compression to persist in the medium term as the company pivots toward secured lending to enhance competitiveness and attract high-value clients. Asset quality in the gold loan segment remains stable, supported by strong gold prices. However, risks in the nongold portfolioparticularly MFI, MSME, and vehicle financeremain elevated. Near-term credit cost pressures are likely to continue, though improved employee incentives may support recoveries and offset provisioning risks. As the company navigates its stabilization phase, improvements are expected to unfold gradually. Given the recent price hike and stretched...

We believe at 1.2x FY27E ABV, the risk-reward is favourable and impeccable execution of the strategy should drive stock performance. We recommend a BUY on the stock with a target price of Rs 53/share, implying an upside of 20% from the CMP.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (Ujjivan) is amongst the few SFBs which had been successful in scaling loan portfolio to INR 333bn by Q1FY26 from INR 75bn in FY18 with an average credit cost of ~150bps (ex-Covid).

Targeting India's Growing Middle-Class Housing Needs