IndusInd Bank has shortlisted three veteran bankers for its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) role and submitted the names to the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), for its approval, reported the news agency Reuters, citing two people aware of the development.
Axis Bank’s Deputy Managing Director Rajiv Anand, HDFC Bank’s Executive Vice President Rahul Shukla, and Bajaj Finance‘s Managing Director Anup Saha were the three veteran bankers the private institutional lender shortlisted to potentially fill the CEO role.
“Rajiv Anand’s name has been given as first priority by the board, given his reputation and the experience he brings to the table,” one of the people aware of the development cited above told the news agency.
As per earlier reports, the Reserve Bank asked IndusInd Bank’s board of directors to submit three names before the deadline on 30 June 2025.
A report from the news portal Economic Times, citing people aware of the development, said that the IndusInd Bank’s board is unlikely to consider more contenders for the CEO role.
The board has also suggested that the new CEO’s term will be for three years at the bank, according to the agency report, citing people aware of the development.
The private lender incurred $230 million in the year ended 31 March 2024-25, due to the years of misaccounting of internal derivative trades. This resulted in the resignations of the former CEO, Sumant Kathpalia, and the deputy, Arun Khurana, in April 2025.
Who are the veteran bankers?
All three veteran bankers who were shortlisted for the IndusInd Bank CEO role have decades of experience working in the banking system for financial companies or institutional lenders.
HDFC Bank’s Executive Vice President, Rahul Shukla, has been serving as the Senior Vice President and Head of the Risk Strategy Unit in the institutional lender for the last 21 years, according to the LinkedIn profile.
Shukla has a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the Savitribai Phule Pune University.
Rajiv Anand, who is currently serving as the Deputy Managing Director of Axis Bank, has spent more than eight years in the company. Before joining the institutional lender, between 2009 to 2013, Anand worked at Axis Asset Management as its MD and CEO.
Anand also has prior experience working for over 12 years at Standard Chartered Bank, and 4.9 years of experience working for HSBC. He also holds a chartered accountant certification from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
Anup Saha, the current Managing Director of Bajaj Finance, has nearly 32 years of experience in the industry, working 25 years in financial services and banking with various institutional lenders and non-banking financial entities.
