Yes Bank will aim for profitable, sustainable growth, but not growth at all costs, says new MD Tonse  

Yes Bank will aim for sustainable and consistent growth over the next few years, the bank’s new Managing Director and CEO Vinay Tonse said on Saturday. The lender reported a 45 per cent year-on-year surge in fourth quarter net profit at Rs 1,068.42 crore, while its net interest income in the January-March quarter grew 16 per cent from a year ago to Rs 2,637.7 crore.
 
Tonse took charge of the private sector lender as MD and CEO earlier this month. Interacting with reporters post its earnings announcement, he reiterated the focus on four pillars – people, products, processes and technology – as its charts its next phase of growth. He said that Yes Bank had sufficient capital to grow and he expressed confidence of growing advances in double digits.
 
“Including the disbursement that we see on our retail business, we are growing quite well. So, on a secular basis, we believe, we are a franchise, that should consistently now look to deliver a double-digiti growth like we have done as we existed March 2026,” Tonse said.
 
He, however, stressed that the focus will be for “profitable, sustainable growth, but not growth at any cost.”
 
Yes Bank had faced a near collapse in 2020. A massive stress on its loan book forced the Reserve Bank to step in and the bank was bailed out through a capital infusion by a consortium of public and private sector lenders. Tonse took over from Prashant Kumar who had been given charge of the bank in 2020. Under Kumar’s leadership, the bank saw a steady improvement in assets and built a strong retail franchise.
 
Tonse stated that Kumar’s leadership had been pivotal in stabilising, strengthening and reinforcing the institution, and the bank today was operating on a stronger base with resilient asset quality.
 
In 2025, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) picked up a stake in Yes Bank. The Japanese banking major is currently the largest shareholder in Yes Bank with a shareholding of around 24.90 per cent. The partnership with SMBC provides helpful strategic support, especially in corporate and cross-border banking, said Tonse.
 
“We now have a wider opportunity set, which we were some ways constrained earlier, and that gives us the ability to keep building scale,” he said.
 
The lender is seeing strong momentum in home loans, and demand remained “robust” whether it was prime loans or affordable home loans, said officials. The growth in the automotive sector, which is generally good in the fourth quarter, has continued to see a traction into April, they added. There was also a decent uptick in the commercial vehicle and construction equipment segment, but the lender would remain cautious in the backdrop of the fuel price hike (industrial diesel prices were hiked recently in the backdrop of the surge in crude oil prices) and its impact on freight.
 
No impact of West Asia conflict yet, but watching portfolio closely
 
Tonse said they were closely watching the rapidly evolving global environment, whether it was artificial intelligence (AI) and the geopolitical conflict and how it was impacting global growth, supply chains and inflation.
 
Officials said that as of now, the lender was not seeing any specific impact of the US and Israel war on Iran on its exposures and the companies they had engaged with.
 
“We are watching the portfolio and the impact of war on it very closely. Currently, there is no impact, all our clients have been operating well. But, we are mindful of the fact that the war can have a little longer-term impact during the year, in terms of rising inflation and hence there may be second-order impact on a larger portfolio. But, this is something, which the entire industry will be watching,” said Manish Jain, executive director of Yes Bank.
 
Yes Bank shares had closed at Rs 20.20 on the BSE on Friday, up 1.3 per cent from previous close.