Switch from Chanda to Shikha ! ? from ICICI Bank to Axis Bank !?

Now this is an intriguing switch to consider ! From Chanda to Shikha ?

Just this morning I was conversing with an ex commercial editor of a Newspaper….we were discussing how the Media today is corrupt and deliberately mislead investors with guided opinions by experts and planted stories….in fact he was bold enough to even accuse a leading National Daily of being a prostitute !…where every inch of the paper is up for sale !

When suddenly he popped an intriguing question….Should one switch from ICICI Bank to Axis Bank ?…An immediate reaction was that it becomes a choice between the two Managing Directors,Chanda Kochhar of ICICI Bank and Shika Sharma (ex-ICICI) of Axis Bank !

Now’s this is an interesting switch !

ICICI Bank closed at Rs 843 today and Axis Bank at Rs 914

Chanda Kochhar has been elevated to the hot seat and is trying to turnaround the Bank’s standing…last week she was angrily defending loan transfers to ARCIL as being genuine save a few where frauds were detected…she accused a rival bank of spreading malicious rumours that such fraudulent loans ran into hundreds of crores…last year she defended the bank’s creditworthiness and financial stability because of exposure to sub prime overseas Investments and the quantum of Loans that were non performing assets ..again here ICICI Bank had complained to SEBI and even filed an FIR that there was a leading Broker behind the crash in the share price of ICICI Bank….he had send out by SMS adverse rumours about the Bank to over 30000 mobile phones…If you recollect,the ICICI Bank Share Price had dived close to Rs 300 in September 2008 from over Rs 600 levels and Chanda Kochhar very courageously came on TV several times to allay fears by giving specific details and quantum of the default accounts and Investments..The Share Price has since regained lost ground

Shikha Sharma lost out to Chanda Kochhar to head ICICI Bank…she exited the Group and was appointed MD of rival Axis Bank….The Bank has just concluded successfuly a QIP at Rs 906….these two seem to be fighting it out on the bourses too !

Many view Axis Bank as a better prospect than ICICI Bank  on most fronts…so the switch should very much be a serious consideration if you do not want to increase sector exposure and have both these banks in your Portfolio…Chanda may well demand “Switch from Axis and Shikha to ICICI Bank and me !”…Equity is not just clockwise thinking !

Cheers !