Axis Bank executive director and head of retail Rajiv Anand said, “We found that applications for our online savings account ‘ASAP’ were coming from 16,000 locations. We did a survey and found that the reason why most of them chose Axis Bank was because there was a branch nearby.” According to Anand, customers who took the initiative to open an account online and visited the branch ended up having a higher level of engagement with the bank.

During FY18, Axis Bank had added 400 branches, taking its total network to 3,703 domestic branches and extension counters. According to Anand, the lender’s strategy to increase deposits was to strengthen distribution capability, build on its brand strength and focus on digital to grow transactions. This would, in turn, help the bank grow its retail loan base as a large chunk of personal loans and credit card sales takes place among existing customers.

On digital, Anand said the bank was using the platform to increase engagement with customers. “Our artificial intelligence chatbot, which is being extended to the mobile phone from online banking, will now move to a world of conversational banking,” said Anand.

The focus on the retail franchise has been highlighted by CEO Shikha Sharma in her letter to shareholders in the bank’s annual report released recently. “We believe deposit mobilisation in fiscal year 2019 could pose some challenge. We expect branches to continue playing a crucial role in deposit mobilisation, customer acquisition and providing localised services. Hence, we would continue to make adequate investments in our branch network,” said Sharma.

According to Sharma, the lender was well placed to exploit the shift in business to private banks. “Over the last nine years, we have successfully built a strong CASA (current and savings account) franchise on back of continued investments in branch infrastructure. Our market share in deposits has grown from 2.6% in 2008-09 to 3.6% at the end of 2017-18,” she had said.

The lender’s board has appointed executive search firm Egon Zhender to identify a successor for Sharma who has decided to step down in December. Candidates are expected to be shortlisted in a couple of months and a final decision is expected by the end of the September.