Besides reversing IndusInd’s fortunes, Romesh sobti has also won admirers, both within and outside the bank, for his calm and gentle demeanour

When you say you’ll start at 4.30 pm you must start at 4.30 pm,” says Romesh Sobti, indicating that he’ll have to take a short break from his interaction with us to rush off for a webcast with the 24,000 employees of private sector lender IndusInd Bank. It’s the day after the first quarter results for FY17, and the bank which Sobti, 66, has led from the front for eight years has turned in yet another stellar performance. Loan growth is at 30 percent, fees have grown 28 percent, and the current account-savings account (CASA) ratio, a key metric, is at 34.4 percent. Profit after tax also grew strongly at 26 percent, with net non-performing assets (NPAs) at 0.38 percent.

“We will talk [during the webcast] about what happened in the last quarter, what the new initiatives are, what we see happening in the future. And then we will invariably talk about compliance. For 33 quarters I have talked of compliance. Stay within the rules of the land. Compliance has to be drilled in, indoctrinated,” Sobti, a 17-year ABN Amro Bank veteran, explains. For him, a successful strategy must entail that all employees of an organization are on the same page. It is this belief in discipline and a strong performance culture that has led IndusInd—a private sector bank promoted by the Hindujas in 1994 and a marginal player for years—to become an investor favourite.