Mumbai: Retired HDFC Bank executive and former Federal Bank board member Deepak Maheshwari has taken charge as chief credit officer (CCO) at Axis Bank as part of an ongoing reshuffle undertaken by new CEO Amitabh Chaudhry.Maheshwari, 64, confirmed that he had taken over as CCO on January 11 to be in charge of corporate credit appraisal and disbursement.
On request of CEO Chaudhry banks board had to make a special exemption for Maheshwari to take over because he is now 64 and above banks retirement age of 60, a person familiar with board meeting said.This is a long term role and I am a full time employee.
Axis is restructuring credit functions within bank which will be completed in next few weeks, Maheshwari told ET.
Until December end, Maheshwari was a board member of Federal Bank.
On January 1, in a notice to stock exchanges, Federal Bank said that Maheshwari quit board to join a financial institution.An Axis Bank spokesperson confirmed that Maheshwari had joined as CCO but did not comment on exception made by board to get him.
Maheshwari is a seasoned banker and brings rich experience in credit management, product design and underwriting, spokesperson said in an email response.A senior banking executive who has worked with Maheshwari for many years, said his appointment is an indication that Chaudhry wants to change credit culture at Axis.
Though Chaudhry was in HDFC group, he is in no way linked to Maheshwari.
Chaudhry knows there are problems in Axis Banks credit appraisal process and Maheshwaris appointment is an attempt to tighten it and emulate HDFC Bank's model, which Maheshwari is all too familiar with, executive said.