India’s once-troubled banks are generating huge profits

People lookingidbiicicihdfc for tips on how to run a bank do not often head to Mumbai, and for good reason. On May 2nd India’s Supreme Court ruled that the fraud-investigation office could prosecute auditors for their role in the collapse in 2018 of an infrastructure-finance firm backed by state banks. Last year four bosses at Indian Bank, a state lender, were jailed for fraud. Prosecutions of those at three other banks are grinding through the country’s courts.Yet Indian banks’ recent annual earnings have been spectacular. State lenders have led the way: Canara Bank’s net earnings jumped 87% against last year, Union Bank of India’s 61% and ’s 49%. Private banks are hardly laggards: ’s earnings rose by 37%, Kotak Mahindra’s 28% and ’s 19%. JPMorgan Chase, global banking’s benchmark for excellence, offers a return on equity of 14%. India’s state-owned banks generate, on average, over 11% and private banks almost 15%. In a development few, if any, predicted, Indian banks are among the world’s most profitable.