Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd SHARES SURGE 9.5%

Shares of Equitas Small Finance Bank surged over 9.5% on November 4, 2026, after the lender announced the appointment of Balaji Nuthalapadi as its Interim Chief Executive Officer, subject to approval from the Reserve Bank of India. In a stock exchange filing dated November 3, the bank said its Board of Directors had approved Nuthalapadi’s appointment based on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. He is currently serving as the bank’s Whole-Time Director. Before joining Equitas Small Finance Bank, Nuthalapadi spent 28 years with Citibank, where he served as Managing Director and Head of India Citi Solutions Centers, as well as Head of India Operations and Technology. His experience spans asset sales, wealth management, consumer operations, technology, business re-engineering and global capability centre leadership across Asia and EMEA. The leadership change follows the resignation of S. Vasudevan, who has served as the bank’s Managing Director and CEO for over a decade. In his resignation letter, Vasudevan reportedly stated that investors had repeatedly raised concerns about his continued leadership and that the issue was affecting the bank’s stock performance. Vasudevan has been associated with Equitas since its inception as a microfinance institution in 2007. He played a key role in its transformation into a Small Finance Bank in 2016. This is not the first time Vasudevan has considered stepping down. In 2022, he had planned to resign to pursue philanthropic activities but later withdrew his resignation following the board’s request to continue. Meanwhile, the bank reported strong business performance in the September quarter, with its total business crossing the ₹1 lakh crore mark. It also recorded its highest-ever quarterly net profit of ₹218 crore, as highlighted by Vasudevan.