Brands
iCubesWire report shows micro-influencers winning trust and driving sales
INDIA: Influencer marketing in India is shifting from flashy reach to hard-earned trust, with smaller creators emerging as the most credible voices, according to the Influencer Marketing Consumer Report 2026 by iCubesWire.
The study finds that 61 per cent of consumers believe influencer content became more credible in 2025, while 70 per cent say creator recommendations directly influence their purchase decisions. However, buyers are also becoming more cautious, increasingly researching brands beyond influencer posts.
Trust is moving decisively towards micro-influencers. About 35 per cent of consumers place the highest trust in creators with 10,000 to 100,000 followers, followed by 30 per cent who prefer influencers with under 10,000 followers. Only 20 per cent trust mega influencers with over one million followers the most, marking a clear shift from earlier years.
iCubesWire co-founder and chief executive Sahil Chopra, said consumers now value authenticity over follower counts. Influencers, he added, are responding by moving away from polished advertising towards honest opinions and lived experiences.
The power of creators over brand perception remains stark. As many as 83 per cent of respondents said they had stopped buying from a brand after a negative influencer review, driven largely by controversies around influencer behaviour and misleading content.
Consumers also expect long-term authenticity, with 79 per cent preferring influencers who demonstrate brand loyalty rather than one-off endorsements.
Short-form video continues to dominate attention, with 42 per cent favouring content under 15 seconds. Instagram leads platform preference at 55 per cent, followed by YouTube at 25 per cent and LinkedIn at 20 per cent, reflecting growing space for professional creators.
The report also highlights the importance of local language communication, with 72 per cent more likely to purchase when influencers speak in regional tongues.
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
