MUMBAI: Chandra Shekher Ghosh, founder managing director and CEO of Bandhan Bank, will retire in July, ending nearly a quarter of century of leading the financial institution that started as a microfinance lender.
Ghosh informed the company board that he would retire as MD and CEO on completion of his tenure on July 9, 2024, the country’s youngest private bank said on Friday evening.
It did not indicate who would succeed Ghosh or if the board has initiated action to select his replacement.
In a regulatory filing on November 25, 2023, the bank had informed exchanges that Bandhan Bank’s board approved reappointment of Ghosh as MD and CEO for three years, subject to approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and shareholders.
“However, the RBI did not respond to the board’s proposal for an extension till recently. This may have prompted him to resign,” a person aware of the development.
Normally, since RBI prefers stability, they clear appointments of the top post at least three months ahead of the scheduled date, another person said.
Bandhan Bank did not respond to ET’s request for comment as of press time Friday.
Ghosh, 64, has been MD & CEO of the Kolkata-based bank since July 10, 2015.
In his four-page resignation letter, Ghosh hinted that he would continue to play an active role at the group level.
“After leading the bank for almost a decade including three consecutive tenure as MD &CEO, I feel that time has now come for me to assume a large strategic role at Bandhan Group level,” he said in the letter.
He also described the journey of building the institution from a finance company in 2001 to a bank when it received a licence in 2014 to now, when the bank has over 30 million customers and over 75,000 employees. Bandhan Bank’s deposits stood at Rs 1.35 lakh crore and advances were at Rs 1.28 lakh crore at the end of March 2024.
Ghosh said he set up Bandhan as an NGO with his savings to empower women and alleviate poverty. In 2006, Bandhan acquired a finance company which undertook microfinance activities and emerged as the largest MFI in 2010, he said.
In 2014, Bandhan received an in-principal licence to operate as a bank and by August 2015, it launched operations with 501 branches and 50 ATMs across 24 states. It got listed in 2018 and acquired Gruh Finance in 2019.
