Airtel Payments Bank Names Shabnam Sinha Chairperson; Sunil Mittal to Exit Board
Shabnam Sinha will take over as Airtel Payments Bank chairperson from October 1, succeeding Sunil Bharti Mittal, who will leave the board after a decade.
Airtel Payments Bank has appointed Shabnam Sinha as chairperson from October 1, 2026. She will succeed Sunil Bharti Mittal, who will leave the board after 10 years. The leadership change comes as the bank expands its digital banking and financial services business.
Airtel Payments Bank is set for a leadership change at the top. The bank on Monday said Shabnam Sinha will become its chairperson from October 1, 2026. She will succeed Sunil Bharti Mittal, who will step down as non-executive chairman and leave the board on September 30.
Sinha will serve a three-year term. Her appointment has been approved by the board and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Who Is Shabnam Sinha?
Sinha is already an independent director at Airtel Payments Bank. She also chairs the board's Special Committee for Monitoring Frauds.
She is a member of the bank's Risk Management and IT committees.
Sinha brings more than three decades of experience in development finance, financial services and public policy. Her career also includes work with the World Bank, where she advised governments and institutions across Asia, Africa and Europe.
Her appointment comes as Airtel Payments Bank continues to expand its digital banking business.
Mittal's 10-Year Tenure Comes To An End
Mittal became the payments bank's non-executive chairman in April 2016.
His tenure coincided with a major expansion of the bank's reach. Airtel Payments Bank now serves more than 121 million monthly active users and nearly 30 million bank account customers.
It also operates through more than 500,000 banking points across the country, according to the company.
The bank has grown beyond basic digital payments. It now has a wider presence across consumer and enterprise financial services.
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Strong Financial Growth
The leadership transition comes after another strong year for Airtel Payments Bank. The bank reported a consolidated net profit of ₹109 crore in FY26, up 73% from ₹63 crore a year earlier.
Revenue rose to ₹3,207 crore from ₹2,709 crore in FY25. Customer balances also increased 26% to ₹ 4,612 crore. The numbers highlight the scale of the business Mittal helped build over the past decade.
Sinha will take charge at a time when digital banking is becoming increasingly competitive. Her experience in governance, risk management and financial inclusion could become important as Airtel Payments Bank enters its next phase of growth.
The transition also marks a shift from the institution's early leadership phase under Mittal to a more governance-focused structure.
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