Partnering with companies who share Bain Capital’s dedication to excellence in governance and ESG

Axis Bank, one of India’s largest lenders, integrates ESG into how the company drives long-term growth. The company has defined three core pillars to guide its ESG progress: an equitable economy, a thriving community and a healthier planet. With millions of people in rural and urban India participating in its microfinance and digital inclusion programs, Axis Bank has helped bring economic empowerment to some of the most remote regions of India.

Building on a history of responsible growth, Axis Bank has made great strides in embedding ESG governance processes, accountability structures and policies to ensure ESG considerations are integrated into how the company’s Board and senior leadership drive stakeholder value. In 2021, the Board of Directors, which includes a Bain Capital Private Equity Managing Director, created a standalone ESG committee, the first Indian bank to do so. The ESG Committee’s mandate includes reviewing macro-level ESG trends, shaping the company’s ESG strategy and roadmap, elevating ESG- related risks and opportunities, guiding unified communication and disclosures on ESG, facilitating organization-wide integration of ESG imperatives and providing 360-degree monitoring of ESG performance.

Axis Bank has also made a series of ESG-aligned public commitments across its business activities, risk management, human capital, social responsibility, and physical operations. In September 2021, the Bank issued a $600 million Sustainable AT1 Note which was India’s first and only the second in Asia.

Axis Bank strives for greater transparency and disclosure, and the company’s annual Sustainability Reports clearly outline its strategies and action for managing material governance topics. The company was included in the FTSE4Good Emerging Markets Index for the fifth consecutive year in 2021, and improved its performance in the Climate Disclosure Project (CDP), MSCI ESG Ratings and S&P Dow Jones Sustainability Indices.