Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB) on Wednesday announced the appointment of Carol Furtado as an 'officer on special duty' till September 30, and said she will take charge as the interim CEO from October.
The move follows the resignation of the lender's MD and CEO Nitin Chugh last week, who will stay with the bank till September 30.
Ujjivan SFB held a board meeting on Wednesday and unanimously approved the appointment of Carol Furtado as the 'Officer on Special Duty (OSD)', the bank said in a statement.
She will lead the charge of handling the day-to-day operations of the bank from Thursday and will serve the bank as OSD until Chugh is in office.
"Post September 30, 2021, she will take charge as the interim CEO, subject to the RBI's approval. The board of Ujjivan SFB, in parallel, will evaluate suitable candidates for the MD & CEO position, and submit two names to RBI for approval," the lender said.
Furtado has been associated with Ujjivan SFB since inception and has spearheaded the organisation on numerous occasions, playing critical roles.
"Her extensive experience, over a decade and a half, across business, operations, and HR, along with her expertise in leading Ujjivan, through various crises, make her an ideal candidate," the bank also said.
Ujjivan Financial Services, the parent company, in a separate filing to stock exchanges said that with the appointment of Furtado as OSD in Ujjivan SFB, she has resigned as its CEO.
On account of these development, "we hereby inform that Carol Furtado who was recently appointed as the CEO of the company effective from August 13, 2021, has resigned from the position of CEO and key managerial personnel (KMP) with effect from today, August 25, 2021, (close of business hours)," Ujjivan Financial Services said.
Her resignation comes as she has a larger role to play at the bank which is the principal investment and sole subsidiary of the company, it added.
Ujjivan SFB, which began operations from February 2017, recently saw some top-level exits as the bank faces issues related to high level of bad assets and management issues, among others.
As on date, Furtado is the head of operations at the bank.
The lender's overall recognised stressed pool stands at 15.6 per cent of the loan book. This includes gross non-performing assets of 9.8 per cent and restructured loans of 5.8 per cent.
The portfolio-at-risk has swelled to 30 per cent as of June 2021.
According to a report by Emkay Global Financial Services, the bank's early-stage faltered strategy to mobilise deposits from MFI customers, lack of credible leadership to manage the liability business, and higher dependence on the vulnerable MFI business have led to its current status as a troubled SFB.
"The COVID-19-induced disruption aggravated its asset-quality problems. We believe the bank will take time to emerge from these issues and will also make its aspired transition into a universal bank difficult," Emkay said.
Shares of Ujjivan SFB on Wednesday closed at Rs 19.85 apiece on the BSE, down 2.46 per cent from the previous close. Ujjivan Financial Services' stock closed at Rs 164.60 apeice, up 4.61 per cent.
