Axis Bank rallies 230% under Shikha Sharma; markets see exit as positive

The underperformance over the last one year, analysts say, has been on account of the Bank's worsening asset quality led by its corporate loan portfolio.

Axis Bank rallied 2.4 per cent at Rs 531 on Tuesday in intra-day deals, extending its Monday’s 3.4 per cent gain on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), after Shikha Sharma, the bank’s managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO), decided to step down with effect from December 2018.

Sharma took charge as the MD & CEO of the Bank on June 01, 2009, after her stints with ICICI Bank and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. During her tenure (2009 – 2018), Axis Bank stock has gained around 230 per cent on the BSE, (compounded annual growth rate of 16