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PNB Housing Finance names Mukesh Agarwal chief sales officer, retail
MUMBAI: PNB Housing Finance has elevated Mukesh Agarwal to the role of chief sales officer, retail, marking a significant leadership move as the lender sharpens its focus on retail expansion.
Agarwal brings with him nearly two decades of deep, hands-on experience across credit, risk and retail banking. He has spent over 14 years at PNB Housing Finance, steadily rising through the ranks and building a reputation as a steady operator with a sharp eye for both growth and governance.
Before taking charge of retail sales in August 2025, Agarwal led credit and policy for the company’s affordable housing business, a role that placed him at the intersection of risk management and market expansion. Earlier, as national credit head, he oversaw portfolio quality, stakeholder alignment and P&L responsibilities across regions. His journey within the organisation also includes stints as zonal credit manager for North India and regional credit head for mortgages, giving him a ground-up understanding of the business.
Agarwal’s career began in the mid-2000s with Sahara India, where he handled internal audits for its para-banking division. He then moved through credit-focused roles at IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, working across auto loans, two-wheelers and mortgages. This breadth of experience has shaped a leader equally comfortable with numbers, people and strategy.
In his new role, Agarwal is expected to bring a credit professional’s discipline to the sales function, blending growth ambitions with risk awareness. For PNB Housing Finance, the appointment signals a bet on seasoned insiders who know the business inside out and can translate experience into momentum.
For Agarwal, it is a natural next chapter, moving from guarding the balance sheet to powering the front line, with retail customers firmly in focus.
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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.
