Fino Payments Bank appoints two new independent directors on its board

The Mumbai-based Fino Payments Bank has appointed Anita Sudhir Pai and Neeta Mukerji as additional directors in the capacity of independent directors of the bank

Fino Payments Bank on Wednesday announced the appointment of two independent directors on its board as part of its plans for ‘the next phase of digital-led growth’.

The additions to the company’s board come at a time when the payments bank has applied for a small finance bank licence.

The Mumbai-based payments bank has appointed Anita Sudhir Pai and Neeta Mukerji as additional directors in the capacity of independent directors of the bank.

“The appointments assume significance as they provide diversity to the Board in terms of people, thoughts, and professional expertise that help in further strengthening corporate governance, risk management, stakeholder engagement, and digital innovation in the ever-evolving banking space,” the company said in a release.

 

The board now has a strength of eight members.

Pai, until recently the chief operating officer (COO) of Yes Bank, has worked with major banks such as HDFC Bank, Standard Chartered, and ICICI Bank in various capacities. She was appointed as an Additional Director in the capacity of Independent Director of the Bank on January 11, 2024.

Mukerji has worked with financial institutions such as ICICI Bank, Asset Reconstruction Company of India Limited (ARCIL), GE Capital, RBL Bank, and Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprise (ACRE). She was appointed in a similar capacity as Pai on March 5, 2024.

“As the Bank gears up for the next level of growth and gradual progression into mainstream banking, a diverse Board will certainly provide impetus to digital innovation, credit, and risk management,” said Rishi Gupta, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO), Fino Payments Bank.

Similarly, the company’s peer Paytm Payments Bank, which has been facing headwinds due to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) restrictions, has made significant changes to its board last month.

Paytm Payments Bank reconstituted its board last month by inducting former bureaucrats and public sector bankers while removing the founder of Paytm and CEO of One97 Communications (OCL) Vijay Shekhar Sharma as part-time non-executive chairman and board member.

The new set of independent directors on Paytm Payments Bank’s board includes former Central Bank of India chairman and managing director (MD) Srinivasan Sridhar, retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Debendranath Sarangi, former Bank of Baroda executive director Ashok Kumar Garg, and retired IAS Rajni Sekhri Sibal.

All of them have recently joined as independent directors.