Surinder Chawla has resigned from his role as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Paytm Payments Bank, as reported in a disclosure by One97 Communications to the National Stock Exchange on April 8.
The resignation, effective June 26, was submitted due to personal reasons and Chawla’s desire to pursue better career opportunities. Chawla became part of Paytm Payments Bank in February of the previous year. Prior to that, he served as the head of branch banking at RBL Bank for over nine years, and had an extensive stint at HDFC Bank for more than 11 years in senior roles, including head of retail liabilities product group and senior executive vice president.
This leadership change follows recent regulatory actions by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) against Paytm Payments Bank. In January, the RBI had placed restrictions on the bank citing concerns over regulatory breaches and compliance issues.
However, the RBI did allow some leeway to Paytm shortly afterwards, which led to the termination of inter-company agreements between One97 Communications and Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) to maintain PPBL’s operational independence.
In a related development, Vijay Shekhar Sharma resigned as the part-time non-executive chairman and board member of Paytm Payments Bank. Additionally, the company announced the appointment of five new directors to its board, marking a significant reconstitution.
