Axis appoints HDFC veteran to lead Bharat Banking

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Axis Bank has appointed former HDFC Bank senior executive Rahul Shukla as group head of Commercial and Bharat Banking, bringing in a veteran corporate and rural banker to sharpen its push into small businesses and rural and semi-urban markets.

Shukla, 57, will take charge from October 19 and will be part of the bank’s senior management. His mandate will include accelerating growth, deepening customer relationships and strengthening Axis Bank’s presence across its commercial and Bharat banking businesses.

The appointment marks Shukla’s return to an active banking leadership role after he left HDFC Bank in October 2025. HDFC Bank had informed stock exchanges that Shukla, then group head of Commercial and Rural Banking, resigned for personal reasons with effect from October 1, 2025.

Shukla brings more than three decades of banking experience spanning wholesale, corporate, investment, commercial and rural banking across India and Asia. He joined HDFC Bank in 2018 after spending over 25 years with Citibank, where he rose to become head of Corporate Bank for South Asia.

At HDFC Bank, Shukla initially joined as group head of Corporate and Business Banking and subsequently held leadership roles across wholesale banking as well as Commercial and Rural Banking. The latter became one of HDFC Bank’s key growth engines as the lender expanded deeper into MSMEs, agriculture and semi-urban and rural markets.

Before HDFC Bank, Shukla spent his career at Citi across investment banking, corporate finance and capital markets in India, Singapore and Hong Kong. As head of Citi’s South Asia Corporate Bank, he was responsible for relationships with large corporates, financial institutions, public-sector companies and multinational corporations across India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He was also a member of Citibank’s Global Corporate Banking Operating Committee.

He began his banking career with Citi in 1991 after completing a B.Tech in electrical engineering from IIT Varanasi and an MBA from IIM Bangalore.

Shukla’s appointment comes as Axis Bank seeks to scale both its commercial banking franchise and its presence in what it calls the “Bharat” market, encompassing rural and semi-urban customers and businesses.

Bharat Banking has become a strategic focus area for Axis Bank, covering businesses including farmer finance, gold loans, microfinance, farm equipment and rural enterprises. The lender has said it wants to deepen its presence in rural and semi-urban markets through an asset-led liability strategy, while using the franchise to build priority-sector assets as well as deposits.

The bank has identified building a profitable Bharat Banking franchise as one of its strategic priorities, alongside increasing its market share in rural and semi-urban markets and using digital platforms and partnerships to scale the business.