Private banking more promising than PSUs; ICICI, Axis Bank top bets: P Phani Sekhar

In a chat with ET Now, P Phani Sekhar, Fund Manager-PMS, Angel Broking, shares his views on the banking space.

ET Now: What would be your call really on the banking names especially the PSU names right now, given that there is resurgence of interest in the private names?

P Phani Sekhar: I would continue to be with the private space because there are far too many uncertainties even now, considering the fact that forget about Basel III and capital infusion in the next one year or so, there is a combination of divestment and capital infusion selectively in some of these names. So I guess it is not a good idea, especially after the run-up that you have seen and the asset quality concerns. So one would still be comfortable in name such as ICICI Bank which even despite the rally over the last two days still looks pretty interesting or an Axis or an HDFC as compared to an SBI or PNB that is banks of that size.

If you come slightly down the barrel, then I guess South India or a Federal Bank still look pretty interesting as compared to the midcap PSU names such as Corporation Bank or an Andhra Bank. So whichever capitalisation segment you look at, private banking seems much more promising than PSUs.