RBL Bank Names R Subramaniakumar As New MD, CEO

Banking sector veteran R Subramaniakumar, with over 40 years of experience, will take charge of private sector RBL Bank from June 24, replacing the interim MD & CEO Rajeev Ahuja.

Ahuja took charge as the interim MD & CEO of the bank after the sudden ouster of the then chief Vishwavir Ahuja in late December 2021, who was sent on leave with immediate effect.

Subramaniakumar had in past served as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of Chennai-based public sector lender Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and also as the Executive Director (ED) of the bank.

Besides, he was also the ED at Indian Bank and held various positions in the banking industry. He was instrumental in the transformation at Delhi-based Punjab National Bank (PNB). Also, he served as a board of director of PNB's Bhutan joint venture Druk PNB.

The search committee constituted to identify the MD & CEO for the bank ran an exhaustive process along with Egon Zehnder and recommended the name of R Subramaniakumar, a highly capable and a meritorious person for the job, RBL Bank said in a statement.

Prakash Chandra, Chairman of the board, RBL Bank, said Subramaniakumar is a veteran in the industry and his experience and support will further strengthen the organisation.

"I am confident that his leadership will present an opportunity for us to reinvent and unlock the immense potential of the bank," Chandra said.

Rajeev Ahuja, whose term comes to an end on June 24, welcomed Subramaniakumar's appointment, exuding confidence that the bank will greatly benefit from his experience.

"I would like to extend my complete support to him and look forward to working together and take the bank forward in its growth journey," Ahuja stated.

Subramaniakumar said: "RBL Bank has achieved phenomenal success ever since its transformation began about a decade back and I am sure we will script another phenomenal story going forward."

In a raft of developments in late December last year, RBI had appointed its Chief General Manager Yogesh K Dayal an additional director to RBL Bank's board while sending Vishwavir Ahuja on leave, amidst concerns over bank's financial health.

Following this, Rajeev Ahuja assured that bank's financial position was strong and it had full support of RBI and its board of directors.

Rajeev was appointed as the interim MD & CEO of the bank for a period of three months with effect from December 25, 2021, which was further extended by another three months with effect from March 25, 2022 or till the time a regular MD & CEO was appointed.

In fiscal year 2021-22, RBL Bank had posted a net loss of Rs 75 crore, while there was a net profit of Rs 508 crore in the preceding fiscal year.

Bank's advances during the year grew by a modest 2 per cent to Rs 60,022 crore, while deposits were up by 8 per cent to Rs 79,007 crore.

Stock of RBL Bank tumbled over 20 per cent to close at Rs 87.90 apiece on the BSE on Monday.