Pankaj Bansal has been appointed as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer at Acuité Ratings & Research Limited (SEBI Registration No.IN/CRA/006/2011), succeeding Sankar Chakraborti following a planned leadership transition. In his new role, he will lead one of India’s leading credit rating agencies as it continues to strengthen its commitment to the country’s evolving financial ecosystem. His appointment reflects Acuité’s focus on ensuring leadership continuity, seamless stakeholder engagement, and sustained growth across clients, regulators, investors, lenders, and the broader financial services industry.
Pankaj brings more than two decades of leadership experience across credit ratings, banking, fintech, payments, and financial services. Prior to joining Acuité Ratings & Research Limited, he served as Chief Business Officer at BankBazaar, where he led revenue growth, strategic partnerships, digital alliances, business expansion, and marketplace relationships with banks, fintechs, and housing finance companies. Earlier at BankBazaar, he held the positions of Chief Business Development Officer and Vice President, playing a key role in strengthening the company’s business development and commercial strategy. Alongside his corporate responsibilities, he has also been serving as Advisory Board & Curriculum Committee Member at MasterMyLife EQ Education (Mumbai University), mentoring students and contributing to curriculum development and leadership initiatives.
Earlier in his career, Pankaj held senior leadership positions at MasterCard as Senior Director, driving partnerships with banks, financial institutions, digital payments, product innovation, alliances, and P&L management. Prior to that, he was Associate Director at CRISIL, where he led nationwide acquisition for the ratings business while managing large teams, P&L, productivity initiatives, and market expansion. His professional journey also includes leadership roles at HDFC Bank Ltd. as Assistant Vice President, Citibank India as Area Head, and ICICI Bank as Manager, building deep expertise across retail banking, credit cards, corporate relationships, sales leadership, portfolio management, merchant acquisition, customer engagement, and financial services growth.
With extensive experience spanning credit ratings, banking, fintech, digital payments, business development, strategic alliances, and financial services, Pankaj Bansal is well-positioned to lead Acuité Ratings & Research Limited into its next phase of growth. His leadership is expected to further strengthen the organization’s position in India’s financial ecosystem while continuing its focus on innovation, stakeholder trust, and long-term value creation.