Credit Suisse's Neelkanth Mishra may join Axis Bank to lead research department

Neelkanth Mishra, co-head of Asia Pacific strategy at Credit Suisse Group AG, has resigned from the company and is set to join Mumbai-based Axis Bank Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.

A veteran of two decades at the Swiss bank, Mishra has agreed to helm Axis Bank’s research department, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is private.

He is part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisory Council and head of research at Credit Suisse’s local unit, according to the bank’s website.

The hiring is part of Axis Bank Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Chaudhry’s plans to bolster various businesses including wealth management and investment banking business of the lender, whose share price touched a record high earlier this year.

The financier had also completed the acquisition of Citigroup Inc.’s India retail banking business for $1.4 billion earlier this month.

Switzerland’s second-largest lender has been pummeled over the last several years by a series of blowups, scandals, leadership changes and legal issues, and several senior bankers have exited in recent months.

Ashish Gupta, the former head of India equity research at Credit Suisse, joined Axis Mutual Fund as chief investment officer, an exchange filing showed earlier this month.