RBI approves Carol Furtado as interim CEO at Ujjivan Small Finance Bank after Sanjeev Nautiyal’s exit

Kolkata: The Reserve Bank of India has approved executive director ‘s appointment as interim chief executive officer of the Bengaluru-based lender following a sudden resignation of MD & CEO .

The RBI said that the appointment is for three months or until a new MD takes charge, whichever is earlier.

Nautiyal stepped down on health grounds.

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The Ujjivan board, at a meeting on Tuesday, accepted Nautiyal’s request for early retirement and approved the appointment of executive director Carol Furtado as interim head, the bank said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges

The bank said it would initiate the process of identifying Nautiyal’s successor and submit its recommendation to the RBI in due course.

Shares of fell 5.4% on Tuesday to Rs 65.40 on the BSE as investors sold the stock following the development.

Nautiyal sought early retirement in an email sent on the evening of August 31, citing health issues. The former managing director of State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, took charge of Ujjivan on July 1, 2024, for a three-year term.

“We would like to make better succession planning in the future,” a bank official said on an analyst call arranged after the board meeting.

Nautiyal ceased to be MD & CEO and key managerial personnel from Tuesday. He will remain on leave during the three-month notice period and formally retire from the bank on November 30, according to the bank’s exchange filing.

The development comes at a time when Ujjivan is seeking to diversify its business and reduce its dependence on unsecured microfinance loans to improve business stability. The RBI in April returned the bank’s application to become a universal bank, asking it to diversify its business further.

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“We remain confident about business continuity,” Furtado said at the analyst call.

Furtado has more than three decades of experience across business, strategy, operations, people and institutional functions. She was part of the leadership team that laid the foundation of Ujjivan.

The board noted that the bank’s leadership development initiatives and succession planning will help it address current operational needs and manage the transition, the bank said in the stock exchange filing.