Unity Small Finance Bank gets RBI approval to induct Vinod Rai on board

Bengaluru: Unity Small Finance Bank received approval from the Reserve Bank of India for the appointment of former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai to its board, the joint venture of fintech firm BharatPe and the Centrum Group said on Thursday. Rai joins as independent chairman.

The appointment comes at a time when BharatPe’s cofounder Ashneer Grover is facing flak from various quarters over a leaked audio tape of a purported conversation he had with a Kotak Mahindra Bank employee. He is alleged to have used expletives and given death threats to the bank employee during the conversation. Grover, however, is not a board member at Unity Bank.

Unity Bank said Rai’s experience as a board member of several public sector undertakings and private banks will help in shaping a long-term strategy for the lender.

Previously, Rai has also been chairman of the Banks Board Bureau, the body which advises the Indian government on top-level appointments at public sector banks and suggests ways to address bad loans. A former IAS officer, he had also served in multiple capacities at the ministries of finance, commerce and defence, as well as other roles with the federal and state governments.

“Driven by its mission to have the highest standards of corporate governance, Unity Bank endeavours to have a strong board to guide its journey towards becoming a successful digital bank,” Unity Bank said in a statement.

The lender recently inducted several banking industry experts, including retired RBI official Sandip Ghose, former Syndicate Bank chairman Basant Seth and former RBL Bank chairman Subhash Kutte on to its board. It kicked off operations in November last year, a month after receiving the licence to operate a small finance bank from the RBI.

Earlier in June 2021, the RBI had cleared the takeover of scandal-hit Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank by the joint venture of Centrum and BharatPe. The partners had at that time said they would jointly infuse $250-300 million in PMC Bank over two years.