Vijay Shekhar Sharma resigns from Paytm Payments Bank board; company appoints 4 new independent directors

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder and CEO of RBI-hit Paytm, has resigned from his position as the non-executive chairman and board member of Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL). 

Sharma's departure is aimed at facilitating a smooth transition for the payments bank, according to a statement from One97 Communications Ltd, Paytm's parent company. The company also announced its decision to withdraw its nominee from the PPBL board.

PPBL said it will start the process of appointing a new Chairman.

The development comes weeks after the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) decision to prohibit PPBL from acquiring new customer deposits, citing repeated non-compliance with regulatory requirements. The directive initially set a deadline of February 29, which was later extended to March 15.

The board restructuring 

PPBL has recently appointed four new independent directors: Ex-Central Bank of India Chairman Shri Srinivasan Sridhar, retired IAS officer Shri Debendranath Sarangi, former Executive Director of Bank of Baroda Shri Ashok Kumar Garg, and Retd. IAS Smt Rajni Sekhri Sibal.

Who are these new independent directors?

Sridhar brings with him an illustrious career in banking spanning over 40 years. He is currently serving as the Independent Director at Jubilant Pharmova. He has held leadership positions at Export Import Bank of India, Central Bank of India, and National Housing Bank.

Sarangi, retired IAS (1977 batch) of Tamil Nadu cadre, is a veteran in public administration and corporate governance. He is currently serving as an Independent director on the boards of several companies including Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Limited and Voltas Ltd, among others.

Sibal is a retired IAS officer of Haryana cadre (1986 batch) with 38 years of experience in administration and governance. She has served as Secretary, Government of India. Currently, she serves as an Independent External Monitor in the Public Sector and as an Independent Director in Corporates.

Garg, with 39 years of diverse banking experience, has held significant positions, including whole time Director at Bank of Baroda, Chief Executive for USA operations of the bank at New York, Managing Director of Bank of Baroda (Uganda) Ltd at Kampala and Chairman/Director of its subsidiaries in Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and Kenya.

Besides this, the board has former Executive Director of Punjab & Sind Bank Arvind Kumar Jain as Independent Director and Surinder Chawla, MD & CEO at Paytm Payments Bank.

Strategic advisory  

Amidst this, One97 Communications has formed a group advisory committee led by M. Damodaran, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, to guide the company through its next phase of growth and regulatory compliance. 

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