ICICI Bank is going to be a hanging story till name cleared: Santosh Singh

In a chat with ET Now, Santosh Singh, BFSI and Head of Research, Haitong Securities, says every three- four months, there will be some development and the whole thing can keep on going for three-four years.

Edited excerpts:


The ICICI Bank stock has already lost 22% in last three months. Do you think the clean cheat given by the ICICI Bank to Chanda Kochhar can help re-correct the stock or is it a murky story that you would completely stay away from?

I would not like to comment on it. But the key point here is if CBI’s name is linked to any stock name, then irrespective of the outcome, in the near term, that creates uncertainty. The biggest thing the markets dislike is uncertainty. Till the time CBI does not come up with its findings and the final outcome, it will be always a hanging story. Every three- four months, there will be some development and it will keep on going for three-four years. So, that is a real problem.


But at the same time as everyone has been saying that the bank is good and valuations are dirt cheap. If CBI clears the story very fast, then it will be really good for ICICI Bank. Otherwise, it is going to be problematic.

Canara Bank has said that there is value in Can Fin Homes, value that investors have not been able to measure up to just as yet and so they will abandon the stake sale that was planned. What is the view?

We do not cover the stock but broadly speaking if the value which was expected by the investors through the Can Fin Homes stake sale is not coming through, then it is not going to be positive for the bank because the bank definitely needs capital and this was one of the ways to get capital. If that is not available, then it is definitely not positive for the stock.