Kochhar was speaking to reporters on sidelines of the Nasscom India Leadership Summit.
She said the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) policy stance is to infuse liquidity into the system, adding, “We need to see the total impact of the cash reserve ratio (CRR) cut before reducing lending rates.”
Talking about non-performing assets (NPA) in the banking system, Kochhar said profitability for many companies has been under pressure for the past few quarters.
“In past 10 years, corporates have leveraged itself substantially, which explains the impact of economic slowdown on them,” she said.
“There is certainly a concern over the asset quality of some companies, but to generalise it to the entire sector is a gross exaggeration.” ICICI Bank sees a reduction in its NPA levels going forward, she added. FE