ICICI Bank Ltd. (IBN)

There are 2 really good banks in India, this and HDFC. India has a lot of government fiscal policy change right now, and GST has been added so they can get their revenues up and be able to start to spend on infrastructure. Unlike this bank, HDFC Bank is more of a development bank, and have been able to grow their dividends at a much faster rate. He chose HDFC for his holdings for the future.

An Indian stock for a long-term hold? You can do this through the banking side through an HDFC Bank (HDB-N) or through ICICI Bank (IBN-N). Those 2 are the best ones. Their share prices have had a huge run this year, much like the emerging markets. It has also helped that the Indian government has enacted a GST.

One of the larger banks in India. She exited her position last year because of increasing noise around the loan books. It now looks very interesting to her and is looking at it again. On a valuation basis, it trades at almost half the PE multiple of some of the other private-sector banks.

(A Top Pick Jan 6/16. Up 37%.) When Modi tried to straighten out the Indian economy last year, by taking out the Rs.500,000 notes, he was trying to get rid of the cash component corruption in the market, by going through things like credit cards, etc. it was tough on a lot of the financials for short period of time. India is still growing at 6%. This is the largest commercial bank in India.

One of the bigger banks in India. It is a private sector bank. They’ve had a few challenges on the balance sheet side a couple of quarters ago when they started disclosing loans in cement and power sector, which were becoming a bit of a problem. Because it raised questions in her mind, she sold her position. A very well-run bank.

She used to own this, but exited because of their loan book, especially corporate loans. Over the last 2-3 quarters, they are starting to get a lot more colour on some of the issues within the loan book. On the last quarter, there were even more issues coming out. If you have done well with the stock, she would consider switching to another name.

The 2^nd largest bank in India. They are going through some difficulty, because of what is going on with India’s economy. They are seeing increases in loan loss provisions, while at the same time they have to deal with the backdrop of the macro environment, which is higher than expected inflation. Long-term he thinks they still have focus in future. Given that half the population is under the age of 35, this is a decent investment for a long-term holder.

Has reduced her holdings in the last few months, and increased her weighting in some of the other Indian banks. There are pockets of the Indian banking system where there are some loan quality issues in the large corporate loan books, and ICICI has quite a bit of exposure to the segment of the loan book in the economy. That is why the stock has underperformed a lot of the other more retail oriented banks. Trading at a very discounted valuation. It might take another couple of quarters before they work through some of their issues.

One of the premier banks in India. It struggled only because of interest rates in the Indian economy. Quality of the business is good and they are still growing. The business is sound, but the risk is macroeconomic.

He does not know the market space there, but loves the marketplace and the demographics. One of the largest banks in India has to participate in the growth. Don’t average down to more than a 5% holding. He is okay adding to it. He does not know if this has bottomed yet. India should outperform over the next number of years.

He did extremely well and now has moved on. He thinks now it is an opportunity to buy again. India has a strong growing service economy. Earnings estimates are attractive.

India was the fastest growing economy last year by a mile, and has the best demographics globally. You want to be where demographics are super positive and with who is going to make a lot of money. This covers both aspects. A classic bank. It really loans against assets and is not in the derivative business, etc. that got all the other banks in trouble. India has huge family formations and the average age is only 25. It is cheap being almost 50% off. Financials should benefit when economies expand.

He owned this 10 years ago or more when life was a little different and India was just emerging. Indian growth has been slowing down over the last couple of years. The new government really lit up the stock market until recently. You get to participate in the growth and pro-reform government in India. It is an easy way to play that company. Indian stocks are hard to buy. The market is still not cheap enough for him to pound the table.

A very large, respected, Indian bank. Had a nice break out in early 2014, but is now coming back to that break out point at around $10. A successful test at this level, if the market remains choppy over the next number of days or weeks, it could be a great opportunity. You could buy this at around the $10 area and see if they can break out.

He would not be a direct buyer of Indian stocks including this one. The Indian economy is struggling