Indian Banks Among Asia-Pacific's Best-Capitalised Lenders: S&P

Kotak Mahindra Bank reported the highest leverage ratio among Asia-Pacific lenders with assets of at least $100 billion as of March 31, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank also ranked among the region's top banks on the capital metric. A higher leverage ratio for banks is generally a sign of stronger capitalisation, not higher risk.

Kotak Mahindra Bank reported a leverage ratio of 16.56 per cent as of March 31, 2026, the highest among Asia-Pacific lenders in the asset category. The lender's leverage ratio increased by 6 basis points (bps) from a year earlier.

Other large Indian private-sector banks also ranked among the region's leaders. HDFC Ba­nk reported a leverage ratio of 11.14 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank at 10.84 per cent and Axis Bank at 9.28 per cent, according to the data. The analysis highlighted the relatively stronger leverage positions of Indian lenders.

At the other end of the spectrum, Australian banks reported the lowest leverage ratios among institutions covered in the study. National Australia Bank, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia each reported leverage ratios below 5 per cent.

Union Bank of India recorded the sharpest year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in leverage ratio. The State-owned lender's leverage ratio rose by 69 bps to 7.72 per cent as of March 31. The data covers Asia-Pacific banks with total assets of at least $100 billion and compares leverage ratios as of March 31, 2026.

--Subrata Panda, Business Standard