Axis Bank denies rumours about CEO Shikha Sharma’s resignation
MUMBAI: Private sector lender Axis Bank on Wednesday dismissed rumours about the resignation of its CEO Shikha Sharma.
"The news appearing in sections of social media stating the impending resignation of the MD & CEO of the bank is false, speculative and is being circulated with the mala fide intention of misleading the investors and the general public," the bank said in a letter to the stock exchanges.
The bank has been under fire from several quarters after reporting a fall in third quarter profits along with income-tax investigation on some of its branches post demonetisation.
The bank's stock has surged 17 per cent in a month amid speculation that some of its peers such as Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank are eyeing a merger or an acquisition.
All the banks mentioned have denied or declined to comment on the matter.
Shares of Axis Bank rallied 3 per cent intraday on Wednesday following the bank's clarification on its MD's resignation. The shares shed some of the early gains made and closed at Rs 484.5 on Wednesday, down from a high of Rs 502.35. The stock was down 0.72 per cent from the previous closing.
In a recent interview to ET, Shikha Sharma, whose term as chief executive ends in June 2018, had said that the decision on her term extension would be taken by the bank's board. "That's a decision the board has to take and my job as the CEO is to make sure that there is alignment on the long-term goals of the bank and ensure that we have execution capabilities to deliver that," she had said.
"I have never wanted to be a larger-than-life CEO. I take pride in making sure that I make stronger the institution that I am involved with and that we build a strong team capability and the rest is for the board to decide," she had said
Among major banks, Axis has delivered the second-best returns after HDFC Bank since 2009, the year Sharma moved into the corner office.
The bank has delivered 410 per cent returns, compared with the Nifty Bank index's 308 per cent in the period, according to the ETIG database. For State Bank of India, this stands at 105 per cent and for ICICI Bank, 206 per cent.
But, in the last one year, Sharma has been criticised for the bank's deteriorating asset quality and falling profits.
At the end of December 2016, the bank's gross non-performing assets stood at Rs 20,467 crore, up from Rs 1,318 crore at the end of March 2010. Likewise, the bank that had reported profits of nearly Rs 2,515 crore at the end of FY10 saw it plunge to Rs 579 crore in the quarter ended December after several years of growth since 2010.
"The news appearing in sections of social media stating the impending resignation of the MD & CEO of the bank is false, speculative and is being circulated with the mala fide intention of misleading the investors and the general public," the bank said in a letter to the stock exchanges.
The bank has been under fire from several quarters after reporting a fall in third quarter profits along with income-tax investigation on some of its branches post demonetisation.
The bank's stock has surged 17 per cent in a month amid speculation that some of its peers such as Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank are eyeing a merger or an acquisition.
All the banks mentioned have denied or declined to comment on the matter.
Shares of Axis Bank rallied 3 per cent intraday on Wednesday following the bank's clarification on its MD's resignation. The shares shed some of the early gains made and closed at Rs 484.5 on Wednesday, down from a high of Rs 502.35. The stock was down 0.72 per cent from the previous closing.
In a recent interview to ET, Shikha Sharma, whose term as chief executive ends in June 2018, had said that the decision on her term extension would be taken by the bank's board. "That's a decision the board has to take and my job as the CEO is to make sure that there is alignment on the long-term goals of the bank and ensure that we have execution capabilities to deliver that," she had said.
"I have never wanted to be a larger-than-life CEO. I take pride in making sure that I make stronger the institution that I am involved with and that we build a strong team capability and the rest is for the board to decide," she had said
Among major banks, Axis has delivered the second-best returns after HDFC Bank since 2009, the year Sharma moved into the corner office.
The bank has delivered 410 per cent returns, compared with the Nifty Bank index's 308 per cent in the period, according to the ETIG database. For State Bank of India, this stands at 105 per cent and for ICICI Bank, 206 per cent.
But, in the last one year, Sharma has been criticised for the bank's deteriorating asset quality and falling profits.
At the end of December 2016, the bank's gross non-performing assets stood at Rs 20,467 crore, up from Rs 1,318 crore at the end of March 2010. Likewise, the bank that had reported profits of nearly Rs 2,515 crore at the end of FY10 saw it plunge to Rs 579 crore in the quarter ended December after several years of growth since 2010.
