THE GROWTH AGENDA
A decade ago, when Romesh Sobti joined the Hindujas-owned IndusInd Bank from ABN AMRO, the mid-sized private sector bank, with assets of ₹25,000 crore, was languishing. Return on assets (ROA) was a rock-bottom 0.34 per cent. Net interest margins (NIMs), the interest earned over interest paid, were 1.52 per cent. Return on equity (RoE), tracked closely by investors, was 6.76 per cent.
Today, as Sobti gets ready to hand over the baton to Sumant Kapthalia after turning 70, the bank is at the top of the heap. In the past decade, assets have grown 13 times to ₹3.07 lakh crore, RoA has pole-vaulted to 1.82 per cent, NIMs have widened to 4.15 per cent, one of the best in the industry, and RoE has jumped to 15.62 per cent, which gives the bank a price to book value of 2.44 times.
