Mumbai: Axis Bank on Saturday said it had received the Reserve Bank of India’s approval to appoint Amitabh Chaudhry as the managing director and chief executive officer for a period of three years. Chaudhry’s term will be effective from 1 January 2019 up to 31 December 2021.
Chaudhry, who is currently the MD & CEO of HDFC Life insurance Company Ltd, will succeed current CEO Shikha Sharma.
“Please note that a meeting of the Board will be convened in due course to inter alia, approve the appointment of Shri Amitabh Chaudhry as an additional director of the bank and as the managing director & CEO of the bank, in terms of the said RBI approval and subject to compliance with the prescribed formalities under extant law,” according to a press statement released on Saturday.
Prior to joining HDFC Life, Chaudhry was heading Infosys BPO. He was also the head of the independent validation and testing Unit of Infosys Technologies Ltd.
Chaudhry started his career in corporate banking with Bank of America in 1987. He also worked in diverse roles ranging from country finance officer to managing director and technology officer, investment banking, Asia.
“After an extensive search, my fellow directors and I are pleased to welcome Amitabh as the bank’s MD & CEO. Amitabh has a proven track record and is well-equipped to lead Axis Bank in pursuing its growth ambitions balanced with a strong emphasis on risk and compliance management,” Axis Bank Chairman Sanjiv Misra said.
The announcement comes after Sharma decided to leave on 31 December, cutting short her term of three years that began on 1 June. Sharma’s move comes at a time when Axis Bank had posted a sharp rise in bad loans.
According to analysts, the central bank’s asset quality review (AQR) in late 2015 led to a rise in bad loans for most lenders, including Axis Bank. In the quarters that followed, Axis Bank turned out to be among the banks worst hit by the AQR.