CSB Bank to seek shareholders' nod to extend interim MD & CEO Mondal's term

Indian origin Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa's Fairfax India Holdings promoted CSB Bank will seek shareholders' nod later this month to extend interim head Pralay Mondal's term till a regular MD & CEO is appointed.

CSB Bank will seek shareholders' nod for Mondal's appointment at the 101th Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held on September 27, 2022, the private sector lender said in its annual report 2021-22.

He was appointed as the interim MD & CEO with effect from April 1, 2022 for a period of three months and further got an extension from July 1 till September 30.

Mondal was elevated as the deputy managing director of south-based CSB Bank from February 17, 2022 from the position of president (Retail, SME, Operations, and IT) up to February 16, 2025.

With a banking experience of around 30 years, prior to joining CSB Bank, he worked at Axis Bank, Yes Bank, HDFC Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, among others.

Former MD & CEO C V R Rajendran stepped down in March 2022 in an early retirement due to health issues.

Rajendran was instrumental in bringing Rs 1,208 crore of equity capital in the bank from FIH Mauritius Investments Ltd (a subsidiary of Fairfax India Holdings Corporation) in 2019.

Besides, he also led the bank through a successful initial public offering which was oversubscribed 87 times.

CSB Bank shares were listed on stock exchanges on December 4, 2019.

FIH Mauritius Investments Ltd (FIHM) holds 51 per cent stake in CSB Bank.

Since then, the lender has scripted a turnaround story through a transformation journey besides strengthening its leadership skills, human capital, risk management, credit assessment process and rationalisation.

Under Rajendran, the lender returned to profit in first quarter of 2019-20 after incurring losses for many consecutive quarters.

In 2021-22, the bank registered a jump of 110 per cent in its net profit at Rs 459 crore as against Rs 218 crore in the previous year.

It also registered a net interest income of Rs 1,153 crore during the year, crossing the Rs 1,000-crore mark for the first time in its over a century old history.

"Our bank has progressed on all performance parameters over the past few years. Despite the impact of continued challenges triggered by COVID-19, the bank performed exceedingly well in FY22," Mondal said in his message to shareholders.

Citing the geopolitical situations and rising inflation, he said the pace of monetary tightening by central banks and the overall global economic slowdown will have a bearing on India's economy too.

"The inflationary trends and consequent rate hikes may lead to compression in spreads, if banks are not able to pass on the increase in the cost of funds to the borrowers given the competitive scenario in the banking ecosystem," he said.

The lender which opened 100 new branches in FY22 taking it to a total of 603 at end of March 2022 also plans to expand further towards the northern and western states in the country.