Private sector lender, IndusInd Bank has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the appointment of Sumant Kathpalia as the chief executive for three years. Sumant Kathpalia will succeed current MD & CEO Romesh Sobti, who has been at the helm of affairs for over a decade now.

The bank stated, “We are pleased to advise that the bank has received a communication from the RBI today, approving the appointment of Sumant Kathpalia, who currently heads the bank's Consumer Banking business, as the MD and CEO for 3 years, with effect from March 24, 2020, post the retirement of Romesh Sobti, the current MD and CEO.”

Kathpalia currently heads the bank’s consumer banking business and his appointment is effective from 24rth March, post the retirement of Romesh Sobti, the outgoing chief executive.

It was in October last year that the bank had revealed that its board had finalized a potential candidate for the position of managing director & chief executive after Romesh Sobti's term comes to an end in March 2020. Ramesh Sobti is retiring as he attains the age of 70 and RBI guidelines allow a person to be the MD & CEO of the private bank till the age of 70.

A chartered accountant by qualification, Kathpalia has been with the bank since 2008. Before joining IndusInd Bank, he spearheaded the consumer banking business of ABN AMRO. Prior to that, he has also had stints at Citibank and Bank of America.

Kathpalia brings with him decades of experience in banking, spanning areas such as consumer banking, project management, credit cards, bancassurance, wealth management, and consumer finance. He is credited with building the bank’s consumer loan portfolio from scratch, as part of a strategy to diversify the loan book adopted by the bank. He takes over as the CEO of the lender at a time when its stock has been struggling due to concerns over its telecom exposure despite the bank clarifying it. In this direction, he has his task cut out for the coming months.

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