RBI okays Vinod Rai as Unity SFB’s independent chairman

Vinod Rai, the former comptroller and auditor general of India, has been granted approval by the Reserve Bank of India to be appointed as the independent chairman of Unity Small Finance Bank (SFB), a joint venture between Centrum group and Bharat Pe.

Apart from Rai, the SFB has appointed Sandip Ghose, an RBI veteran, Basant Seth, the former chairman and managing director of erstwhile Syndicate Bank, and Subhash Kutte, former chairman RBL Bank to its board to guide its journey in becoming a successful digital bank.

Unity SFB started its operations in November last year after receiving a final nod from the central bank. The RBI gave this joint venture a small finance bank licence to take over the beleaguered Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank. Unity Bank is in the process of acquiring the assets and liabilities of PMC Bank under RBI’s resolution for the bank.

Prior to being appointed as the independent chairman of Unity SFB, Rai has been the chairman of Banks Board Bureau, a body that advises the central government on top-level appointments at public sector banks and ways to address bad loans. He was also associated with IDFC Limited, the holding company of IDFC First Bank. Rai was the independent director at IDFC for two terms.