Axis Bank’s Sanjeev Moghe resigns amid banking sector leadership churn
Axis Bank Ltd senior executive Sanjeev Moghe has resigned, marking the lender’s second top-level departure in a little over a month and adding to a slew of leadership changes across the banking industry. Moghe, the group head of branch banking – South, has left to pursue an opportunity outside the bank, according to Axis Bank.
Moghe tendered his resignation on 4 October and will be relieved at the close of business on 30 October, the bank said in a regulatory filing. He will cease to be a senior management personnel from that date.
Moghe joined Axis Bank in March 2018 and has led the South geography for branch banking and the bank’s cards and payments business, according to his resignation letter. He did not disclose his next role.
His resignation follows that of Axis Bank’s group head and chief financial officer, Puneet Sharma, who resigned in August to pursue the next phase of his professional journey. Sharma, who had served as CFO since March 2020, stepped down on 31 August after more than six years at the bank.
Sharma oversaw the bank’s finance function as well as its legal, secretarial, investor relations and procurement divisions.
In his resignation letter, he said his mandate was to build a strong team, strengthen financial controls and reporting, incorporate prudent financial practices, build a resilient balance sheet and improve shareholder trust, and that these objectives were ‘now largely complete’.
Banking’s leadership churn
The changes come as India’s banking and financial services sector sees a series of leadership changes. HDFC Bank has appointed Anup Bagchi, currently MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, as its next MD and CEO. Bagchi will succeed Sashidhar Jagdishan. Kotak Mahindra Bank has also appointed Anup Kumar Saha as its next MD and CEO, succeeding Ashok Vaswani.
Bagchi’s move has triggered a leadership transition at ICICI Prudential Life, which has appointed ICICI Bank executive Sidharatha Mishra as its next MD and CEO, subject to regulatory approvals.
The changes come as Axis Bank continues to grow its balance sheet. Its latest provisional business update showed gross advances of ₹13.85 trillion as of 30 September, up almost 23% from a year ago. Total deposits rose nearly 21% to ₹14.52 trillion. Current Account Savings Account (Casa) deposits grew close to 11%, while term deposits increased just over 27%.
Axis Bank had also appointed Arvind Subramanian as an additional independent director for a four-year term starting on 23 September. Subramanian has more than three decades of experience across strategy consulting, operating leadership and enterprise growth. He currently leads Iron Mountain India and previously spent nearly 15 years at Boston Consulting Group.
Axis Bank has not disclosed details of Moghe’s next opportunity.
