Musical chairs? Axis Bank, Bandhan Bank CFOs quit within an hour

Back-to-back CFO resignations at Axis and Bandhan Bank fuel speculation of a leadership reshuffle, with Puneet Sharma tipped for HDFC Bank's top finance role

The closing business hours of the last Monday of the first quarter of 2026-27, turned out to be frenetic for India’s largest private banks. At 4:26 pm, Axis Bank – the third largest private sector lender – informed the exchanges that its chief financial officer (CFO) Puneet Sharma had resigned on Sunday to pursue the next phase of his professional journey.

 

Little over an hour later, another private lender Bandhan Bank informed the exchanges that its CFO Rajeev Mantri had resigned on Monday to pursue another opportunity from a career growth perspective. The two CFOs’ exits may well be a part of an industry-wide game of musical chairs unfolding.

   

Axis’ Sharma was being seen as a likely candidate to join India’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank as CFO, with the incumbent Srinivasan Vaidyanathan’s term set to end in October this year. Vaidyanathan has been on an extension in his CFO role at HDFC Bank since 2023. 

 

Late on Monday night, HDFC Bank confirmed that its board has appointed Puneet Sharma as CFO-designate with effect from September 1, 2026, and as chief financial officer from December 1, 2026.

 

Meanwhile, Mantri, who had served as the CFO for Citi India and TransUnion CIBIL prior to his stint at Bandhan Bank, is tipped to replace Sharma at Axis Bank.

 

Sharma resigned from Axis Bank after more than six years with the lender, and will be relieved from the bank’s services at the close of business on August 31, 2026, and will also cease to be a key managerial personnel from that date. Mantri’s last working day will be September 25, 2026.

 

In his resignation letter, Sharma said he had largely achieved the objectives he had set when taking over as CFO.

 

"When I accepted this role more than six years ago, my core mandate was to build a strong team with deep functional strength, robust financial controls and reporting discipline, incorporate prudent financial practices, build a resilient balance sheet and improve shareholder trust. These objectives are now largely complete," he wrote.

 

Emails sent to Axis Bank and HDFC Bank did not elicit a response till press time.

 

Separately, Axis Bank’s board approved the reappointment of independent director C H S S Mallikarjunarao for a second four-year term beginning February 1, 2027, subject to shareholder approval. It also approved the reappointment of Executive Director Munish Sharda for a three-year term from February 27, 2027, subject to approvals from the Reserve Bank of India and shareholders.