North East SFB Appoints Shrimohan Yadav As Independent Director Ahead Of Merger With slice

North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB) has appointed Shrimohan Yadav, the former chief general manager of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as an independent director on its board. 

Yadav has over 36 years of experience in the banking sector, including 29 years at the RBI. He has worked in diverse areas including supervision, regulation, rural development, financial inclusion, human resources management, NEFSB said in a statement.

The announcement comes a month after the bank appointed former Andhra Bank executive Satish Kumar Kalra as its interim managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO). Kalra’s key responsibility includes leading the merger process between Slice and NESFB.

In October last year, fintech unicorn slice announced its plans to merge with NESFB and said it had received the central bank’s approval for it.

Commenting on his appointment, Yadav said, “With its upcoming merger with slice, NESFB is set to establish a distinctly inclusive and innovative digital presence. I am honoured to contribute to this endeavour and be part of NESFB’s journey to forge a path of innovation and excellence in the banking sector.”

Chiming in, Kalra said, “Our continuous endeavour is to fortify the bank’s leadership with an emphasis on exceptional governance and diligent oversight. The addition of Yadav as an independent director to the NESFB board is a strategic move in this direction.”

The merger with NESFB will allow slice to acquire an SFB licence and weather the regulatory uncertainty that plagues the larger fintech sector. In addition, the move will pave the way for slice to bolster its credit and banking ambitions as regulated entities have access to funds (via customer deposits) for credit at a better rate than most fintechs and NBFCs.

The proposed merger will also help slice to largely subvert regulatory troubles like it faced in the previous year due to the RBI’s diktat on prepaid payment instruments (PPIs).

slice’s parent Garagepreneurs Internet Private Limited saw its net loss rise 60% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 405.8 Cr in FY23, while its operating revenue surged 199% YoY to INR 846.7 Cr.

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