North East Small Finance Bank Names Satish Kumar Kalra Interim MD & CEO
Two months post its merger with fintech unicorn Slice, North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB) has appointed Satish Kumar Kalra, former managing director and CEO of Andhra Bank, as its interim MD and CEO.
The bank confirmed the approval of Kalra's appointment by the Reserve Bank of India and the company's board. Kalra's prior roles include independent director positions at PNB GILTS, Indbank Merchant Banking Services, JK Cement and CAN FIN Homes.
His primary focus, as stated by the bank, will revolve around leading the ongoing merger between Slice and NESFB, emphasising operational optimisation and ensuring a smooth cultural assimilation of the two entities.
The merger, authorised in October, joined Bengaluru-based credit and payments company Slice with Guwahati-based North East Small Finance Bank. Post-merger, Slice will no longer operate as an independent entity, with all its components, including its NBFC license, consolidating into the unified banking entity.
The ownership of the merged entity primarily rests with Slice shareholders, holding a 95-97 per cent stake, while the remainder belongs to North East SFB shareholders. Slice, backed by investors like Tiger Global, Insight Partners, EMVC and Blume Ventures, was valued at approximately USD 1.5 billion in its latest funding round in 2022.
