Barclays upgrades ICICI Bank, SBI downgraded

Barclays upgraded ICICI Bank Ltd to "overweight" from "equalweight", and lowered the State Bank of India to "equalweight" from "overweight."

Barclays said it viewed ICICI's credit quality outlook for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 "significantly more positively" due to reduced credit stress, and raised the Indian lender's price target to Rs 1,310 from Rs 970.

However, Barclays downgraded SBI because of recent gains in its share price, noting also that credit stress could remain "elevated" due to the Indian state-run lender's exposure to midsized companies.

Still, Barclays raised SBI's price target to Rs 2,450 from Rs 2,380, calling SBI its preferred pick among Indian public sector banks.



Keywords: Barclays , ICICI Bank Ltd ,State Bank of India ,ICICI's credit , Indian lender's price target ,SBI , share price, lender's exposure, companies,Business news, Indian public sector banks.