
IndusInd auditors seek forensic scrutiny of derivatives portfolio
Following this request, the board has initiated the process of selecting a top firm for conducting forensic audit, said the sources cited above.
The private lender, which has faced a 50%-plus market-value erosion in six months, disclosed on March 10 evening certain discrepancies in its derivatives portfolio. These gaps could adversely impact its net worth by 2.35% as of December 2024, with about '1,600 crore of the hit likely to reflect in the March quarter earnings. On Tuesday, the stock lost 27% after the disclosures, the most on record.
During an analyst call, IndusInd Bank MD & CEO Sumant Kathpalia stated that an external agency had been appointed to review the derivatives portfolio, with the report expected by the end of the fourth quarter.
After discovery of this problem, PwC was appointed by the bank as the external agency for the accounting review of the portfolio, but its report has yet to be tabled, said sources.
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The management told investors these discrepancies have persisted for the past five-to-seven years. «We began reviewing our internal trade book and noticed some discrepancies in our business, which were identified between September and October,» Kathpalia told analysts after the disclosures to the stock exchanges.
CFO-Level Changes
Within months of the bank discovering this discrepancy, its CFO Gobind Jain resigned in January.
He cited plans to explore other opportunities. Arun Khurana, executive director in-charge of global markets and transaction banking, was given