SBI to ICICI — five banks among top 10 public Indian companies in the Forbes Global 2000 list

• Four banks and a finance company made it to the top ten Indian firms in the Forbes Global 2000 list.
• Reliance Industries topped the list this year after it became the first Indian company to cross $100 billion in revenues.
• Three Indian banks SBI, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank occupied the next three spots in the Indian top ten.

Four banks and a finance company made it to the top ten Indian firms in the Forbes Global 2000 list. The list of top ten is dominated by banks followed by energy companies like RIL, ONGC and Indian Oil. TCS is the only tech major to make it to the list.

Mukesh Ambani’s RIL holds on tight to its top spot

Reliance Industries added one more feather to its cap by topping the list this year after it became the first Indian company to cross $100 billion in revenues. At a global level, the company climbed two spots this year to the 53rd rank and a market cap above $228 billion, as per the list. It is also the only Indian company which made it within the top 100 of the global list.

Indian banks also get the spotlight

Three Indian banks SBI, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank occupied the next three spots in the Indian top ten. Finance company HDFC came sixth while Axis Bank occupied the tenth spot - highlighting the growth in the sector.

Central Bank policies might have aided the banks

Equity markets in general have been gaining from the lowered interest rates since the pandemic began. Banks too gained from the eased interest rates, and that coupled with good credit growth and improved recovery from stressed assets too helped both public and private sector banks. All the banks in the list declared a good growth in profits for the quarter ending March with good growth in net interest margins.

Economic revival a key factor

With the economy reviving, the banking sector continues to stabilize. Even analysts believe that the worst has passed for the lenders’ asset quality and loans. Pankaj Pandey, head of research at ICICI Direct, earlier this year said, “Banks have focused on balance sheet strengthening.”

State Bank of India (SBI)
Global Rank: 105
Sales: $54.42 billion
Market Cap: ₹3,97,189 crore ($51 billion)

State Bank of India (SBI) is the second biggest public Indian company at the moment, with a global ranking of 105. It ranked number 2 in the list after RIL and has recently said that its provisioning for bad loans has come down, while its fourth quarter profits went up by 41%.

HDFC Bank

Global Rank: 153
Sales: $22.51 billion
Market Cap: ₹7,16,641 crore ($92 billion)

HDFC Bank came third in the top ten list and is one of the leading private sector banks in India. It has over 6,342 banking branches, 18,130 ATMs across 3,188 cities and towns in India. The company added 1,000 branches in the last fiscal year.

ICICI Bank

Global Rank: 204
Sales: $21.89 billion
Market Cap: ₹4,70,856 crore ($60 billion)

ICICI Bank is one of the largest private sector banks in the country which has been working towards reviving its books by outperforming in its growth and improving its margins for the last few years. It has a network of 5,418 branches and 13,540 ATMs across India.

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC)

Global Rank: 268
Sales: $18.48 billion
Market Cap: ₹3,86,636 crore ($49 billion)

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) which ranked sixth in the top ten companies - is one of India’s leading financing companies. The growth in home loans and home purchases during the pandemic has helped the NBFC grow and improve its margins too.

Axis Bank

Global Rank: 431
Sales: $11.41 billion
Market Cap: ₹1,95,272 crore ($25 billion)

Axis Bank, which came in at number 10 in the Indian Forbes ranking list, has gained from lower credit costs and steady growth across all its business areas. It also acquired Citibank’s consumer business covering loans, credit cards, wealth management and retail banking in March this year.

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