Now Reading: Equitas SFB CEO resigns, shares crash 20% despite record profit
-
01
Equitas SFB CEO resigns, shares crash 20% despite record profit
Equitas SFB CEO resigns, shares crash 20% despite record profit
The Story in Brief
Shares of Equitas Small Finance Bank plunged 20 per cent to Rs 52.11 on Thursday, October 29, after founder and MD & CEO P. N. Vasudevan resigned over a perceived conflict-of-interest concern involving his daughter's NBFC. The stock hit the lower circuit despite the bank reporting its highest-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 218 crore for the quarter ended September 30, wiping out nearly Rs 1,500 crore in market capitalisation.
In his resignation letter to Part-Time Chairman Anil Kumar Sharma, Vasudevan said he stepped down to remove a 'perception overhang' around a potential conflict of interest. His daughter, Varshini Vasudevan Pathangi, is a co-promoter of Unico Housing Finance, an NBFC that received an RBI licence in 2023. Vasudevan maintained that no financial transactions occurred between the bank and the NBFC except for a short-term deposit about two and a half years ago, repaid at maturity. The Board accepted his resignation on October 29 and directed the Nomination and Remuneration Committee to identify a successor, which will require RBI approval.
The bank’s unaudited half-year results showed net profit of Rs 401.6 crore, a sharp turnaround from a net loss of Rs 199.6 crore in the same period last year. Total income for the quarter rose to Rs 2,357.5 crore from Rs 1,846.3 crore a year earlier. Gross NPA ratio improved to 2.29 per cent from 2.92 per cent, and total business crossed Rs 1 lakh crore during the quarter.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both The Hindu BusinessLine and The Federal reported the resignation and the 20 per cent stock crash neutrally, with near-identical financial figures. BusinessLine led with the stock collapse and record profit in the headline, foregrounding the market drama, while The Federal opened with Vasudevan’s tenure and the conflict-of-interest issue. Both attributed Vasudevan’s claim of no transactions except one short-term deposit, and neither added independent scrutiny of that claim. The coverage is uniform straight reporting, with no discernible slant on the RBI or the government. The key next step is the Board’s search for a successor, which will require RBI approval.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): thehindubusinessline.com (neutral report), thefederal.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
Update, 29 October 2026: this story now draws on 2 sources.
