ICICI Securities views on SBI, PNB, Infosys Technologies

State Bank of India (SBI) & Punjab National Bank (PNB)

The banking space looks good in a scenario where interest rates across the globe are heading south. The same is the situation in India which remains least impacted from the credit crisis. Market leaders such as SBI and PNB will witness 22-24% growth in their core business. Also, these banks have a robust CASA of 40% that will enable them to maintain net interest margins (NIMs) of about 3% levels going forward. Even the asset quality remains robust and are well capitalised at this point of time.

Infosys Technologies

Given the current financial turmoil in the US, tech stocks, including large caps, have been beaten down to attractive levels. Also, we believe large cap stocks having scale benefits and substantial cash on books will tide over the ongoing crisis. In such a scenario, we like Infosys because of the above factors and given their superior management capabilities.