Private-sector lender IndusInd Bank Ltd announced the appointment of Sumant Kathpalia as its managing director and chief executive officer for three years.
In a stock-exchange disclosure on Thursday, the Mumbai-headquartered bank said it has received a communication from the Reserve Bank of India, approving the appointment of Kathpalia.
Kathpalia currently heads the bank’s consumer banking business and will assume office on March 24, after the retirement of current MD and CEO Romesh Sobti.
A qualified chartered accountant and a commerce graduate from Hindu College, Delhi University, Kathpalia has over 33-years of experience in the banking sector. He has been with the IndusInd Bank since 2008.
Prior to joining IndusInd Bank, he led the consumer banking business of ABN AMRO Bank and has also worked with Citibank and Bank of America.
Kathpalia has diversified experience across various functions including consumer banking, project management, credit cards, bancassurance, risk management, wealth management, and consumer finance.
The promoter of IndusInd Bank is a London-based Hinduja group which holds over 14% in the bank.
In October last year, the bank’s board had considered and submitted the name of a potential candidate for the role of MD & CEO, to the RBI, seeking approval for the appointment after Romesh Sobti's term comes to an end on March 23, 2020.
Sobti has served Induslnd Bank as its CEO since 2007-08.
Amid Sobti’s and HDFC Bank’s chief Aditya Puri’s retirement, some bankers wanted the age limit of private sector bank chiefs to be extended from 70 to 75 years to bring the central bank rules on par with the new Companies Act, but the RBI hasn't relented.
Under the Companies Act, registered companies can have chief executives who are over 70 years of age by passing a special resolution.
This was clarified by the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, at an event earlier this week, that the banking regulator will not give in to the demand by a few banks to increase the retirement age of private sector bank chiefs.
