India's Federal Bank hits record high as cenbank clears KVS Manian as new CEO
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Shares of India's Federal Bank rose as much as 5.5% to a record high on Tuesday, a day after the central bank approved the appointment of veteran banker KVS Manian as the lender's new CEO, quashing concerns around management succession.
Manian resigned from Kotak Mahindra Bank in April, after nearly three decades at the bank, saying he had aspirations elsewhere in the industry, and local media has said he was being considered for the CEO role at Federal Bank.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved Manian's appointment as Federal Bank's managing director and CEO for three years, the lender said on Monday.
"We view this development as positive as it also brings an end to the uncertainty around management succession," Nomura analysts said in a note.
"Manian has a strong banking pedigree and diverse experience across financial services and his leadership can potentially aid Federal Bank's growth and profitability outlook over the medium term."
At Kotak, Manian oversaw corporate banking, commercial banking, private banking and the asset reconstruction business among others.
In terms of experience, Manian's background "ticks most of the key boxes that investors would look for in a bank CEO," Yes Securities said in a note.
Federal Bank had begun a search for a new CEO in January after the Reserve Bank of India rejected extending CEO Shyam Srinivasan's three-year term, which ends in September.
The average rating of the 30 analysts covering Federal Bank is the equivalent of "buy," as per LSEG data.
The company's stock has jumped 27% so far this year, the most among the 10 members in Nifty private bank index, which is up about 5%.
