Shares of IndusInd Bank surged almost 6 percent on Tuesday, August 5, following the announcement of Rajiv Anand’s appointment as the bank’s new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO).
In an exchange filing, the bank stated that its board has approved Anand’s designation as ‘Additional Director’ in the MD & CEO category, for a period of three years with his tenure set to begin on August 25, 2025.The three-year appointment will run until August 24, 2028, pending shareholder approval at the bank’s upcoming general meeting.
In the filing, the bank said that Anand brings extensive experience from his previous role as Deputy Managing Director at Axis Bank, where he spearheaded the bank’s Wholesale Banking Business.
The Mumbai-based private lender made the announcement late Monday night, and the appointment has now received the Reserve Bank of India’s approval, a requirement for top-level banking appointments.
Anand’s appointment comes at a crucial juncture for IndusInd Bank, which has been without a full-time CEO since the resignation of Sumant Kathpalia at the end of April. Kathpalia stepped down, taking moral responsibility for the bank’s derivatives accounting controversy that surfaced earlier this year.
In the interim, the bank had been steered by a committee of senior executives, including Soumitra Sen, Head of Consumer Banking, and Anil Rao, Chief Administrative Officer. The appointment of a permanent CEO is expected to bring much-needed stability to the lender’s leadership team.
Who is Rajiv Anand?
Rajiv Anand, aged 59, is a chartered accountant with more than 35 years of experience across retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management. He joined the Axis Group in 2009 as the founding Managing Director of Axis Asset Management Co. In 2013, he moved to Axis Bank as President of Retail Banking, and later took over the wholesale banking division in 2018. Most recently, he served as Deputy Managing Director at Axis Bank, where he played a key role in driving the bank’s digital and wholesale strategies.
Financial performance: Q1 snapshot
IndusInd Bank’s financial performance has seen turbulence in recent quarters. The bank posted a net loss in the March 2025 quarter, its first in 20 years, owing to the accounting issues. However, it returned to profitability in the June 2025 quarter, albeit at much lower levels than the previous year.
For the June quarter, the bank reported a 72% YoY drop in net profit to ₹604 crore, compared with ₹2,171 crore in Q1FY25. However, Net Interest Income (NII) exceeded street expectations, coming in at ₹4,640 crore, beating the estimate of ₹4,207 crore. On a year-on-year basis, though, NII declined 14.2% from ₹5,408 crore.
Net Interest Margin (NIM) rose sequentially to 3.46% from 2.25% in Q4, but was still lower than 4.25% in the same period last year. Despite sequential improvement in slippages, asset quality remained a concern. Gross NPAs rose to 3.64% from 3.1%, while Net NPAs increased to 1.12% from 0.95%. The Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) stood at 70%.
Brokerages react positively
Brokerage house Jefferies described Anand’s appointment as a key positive development for IndusInd Bank, given his longstanding tenure and experience at Axis Bank.
“Reorganisation of IndusInd Bank’s top management may be the key initial steps and we will watch out for joiners from other banks,” Jefferies noted in its report. The brokerage expects improvement in fee income, asset quality, and operating efficiency under Anand’s leadership. It has maintained a “Buy” rating on IndusInd Bank with a price target of ₹920, implying a 17 percent upside from current levels.
IndusInd Bank Stock performance
Following the announcement, IndusInd Bank’s stock jumped 5.6 percent intraday to hit a high of ₹848.80 on the BSE. However, the stock is still down 43 percent over the past one year and has declined 11.6 percent in 2025 year-to-date.
The stock remains significantly below its 52-week high of ₹1,498.70, touched in September 2024, and only recently recovered from its 52-week low of ₹605.40, hit in March 2025.
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