IndusInd Bank’s derivative debacle: When accounting leads to a credibility crisis

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This story belongs to the issue:
April 2025
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This story belongs to the Fortune India Magazine April 2025 issue.

IndusInd Bank’s derivative accounting fiasco has exposed the fragile line between risk management and market perception.

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IndusInd Bank’s derivative debacle: When accounting leads to a credibility crisis
 Credits: Anirban Ghosh

THERE ARE THINGS known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception,” wrote the celebrated English writer Aldous Huxley in The Doors of Perception, inspired by his psychedelic experience in 1953 with the drug, mescaline. But Huxley’s rumination extends far beyond altered consciousness — it’s deeply relevant in the world of investing. More often than not, market perception is shaped by what is known, rather than the unknown — and sometimes, that’s where the real risks lie.