India’s bank stocks had a mixed performance this year as the rupee crashed and as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained high interest rates. The Nifty Bank Index, which tracks the biggest banks in the country, rose by 7%, underperforming the Nifty 50 index, which rose by about 10%. So, which were the best and worst Indian banks of 2024?
ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank, the third-biggest Indian bank by assets after State Bank of India (SBI) and HDFC), was the best-performing Nifty Bank Index constituent. Its stock jumped by 30% in 2024, helped by its strong asset growth and profitability.
The most recent results for Q2’25 showed that ICICI Bank’s profit before tax rose by 7.9% YoY to ₹148 billion or $1.78 billion. Its core operating profit rose by 12% as key areas of its business, such as domestic loans, retail loans, and business banking, improved.
The results showed that retail profits rose to ₹55 billion, while wholesale and treasury jumped to ₹51.9 and ₹46 billion, respectively. ICICI Bank expects its business to continue doing well as loan growth and its digital offerings accelerate.
SBI
State Bank of India stock price rose by 27%, making it the second-best performer in the Nifty Bank Index. Like ICICI, SBI’s business has used its scale to continue firing on all cylinders this year.
Its second-quarter of 2025 net profit rose by 27.9% to ₹18,331 crores, while its operating profit jumped by a whopping 50% to ₹29,294 crores. This growth happened as credit growth rose by 14.9% and domestic advances jumped by 15%.
This growth is a sign that the company’s business is doing well even as the Indian economy slows. However, a key risk for the company is that it ended the quarter with a CET-1 ratio of 9.95%, much lower than what Western banks have. For example JPMorgan, a company known for its fortress balance sheet, has a CET ratio of 15%.
Federal Bank
Federal Bank share price soared by over 25% in 2024 as the company continued doing well. It was the third best-performing company in the Nifty Bank Index.
Like ICICI and SBI, the company has published strong results, which have been helped by its physical and digital branches’ growth. Federal Bank said that its net profit rose by 18% YoY in the last quarter, while total income jumped by 25%. Its deposit growth and assets momentum have continued this year.
Most notably, Federal Bank reported the best-ever net profit of ₹1,010 crore in the last quarter, a trend expected to continue.
The other best-performing Nifty Bank Index stocks were Canara Bank, HDFC, and Punjab National Bank.
IndusInd Bank was the main Nifty Bank Index laggard
On the other side, IndusInd Bank was the worst-performing company in the Nifty Bank Index as its stock plunged by 41%. It has also become the worst performer in the Sensex index.
The main concern is that its microfinance division, whose non-performing loans have jumped in the past few quarters. Delinquencies in the division rose for four consecutive quarters, hitting its profitability.
The main concern with this Microfinance division is that loans offered are high-risk high-reward, and now the risks are starting to show. As defaults rise, the company has no recourse to recover its money since the loans are unsecured.
The other top laggards in the Nifty Bank Index are companies like IDFC First Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, and Kotak Mahindra.
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