The Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Sumant Kathpalia as managing director and chief executive officer of IndusInd Bank Ltd., with effect from March 24, for a period of three years.
The private lender informed the exchanges today that Kathpalia would take over immediately after the incumbent, Romesh Sobti, retires.
Sobti took over the leadership role at IndusInd Bank in 2008 after serving as the India head for ABN Amro Bank. Kathpalia, who is also a former ABN Amro employee, currently heads IndusInd Bank's retail lending business.
The decision to appoint Kathpalia was taken by the nominations and remunerations committee of the bank's board and was communicated to the central bank in November 2019.
Succession at IndusInd Bank has been on top of the minds of its shareholders as Sobti has been successfully leading it for over a decade.
Sobti, while announcing the bank's earnings for the quarter ended December, had said that the bank's future strategy isn't dependent on decisions made by a single person. A committee of 80 members drafts the strategy, he had said, ensuring that change in leadership won't affect growth.
Besides the succession issue, the bank's shares have been under pressure on account of its loan exposure to the financially stressed telecom and real estate sectors. The stock price is down over 26 percent year-to-date.
Shares of IndusInd Bank closed 1.71 percent lower on Thursday.
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