Bandhan Bank, which is set to commence operations from August, on Thursday announced its board of directors.
The 10-member board will have Chandra Shekhar Ghosh as the MD and CEO, while former chief economic advisor at the Centre Ashok Kumar Lahiri is the chairman.
Nabard chief general manager PS Raji Gain, United Bank of India former CMD Bhaskar Sen, former CMD of Corporation Bank B Sambamurthy and former executive director of Axis Bank Snehomoy Bhattacharya are among others, who have joined the board.
Representatives from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC may join the bank’s board before September.
GIC, IFC and Sidbi have recently invested more than Rs 1,000 crore in the microfinance major. GIC and IFC are expected to pump in R500 crore more.
Talking to the media after unveiling the bank’s visual identity, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh said Bandhan as a universal bank would have two divisions — general banking and microfinance.
Of about 600 branches, around 70% will be in the eastern region. And of the total branches, around 65% will be in the rural areas.
Bandhan Bank will have a capital base of approximately R3,200 crore against the RBI’s stipulated capital requirement of R500 crore to set up a new bank.
The bank, which will be eyeing to open about one crore accounts after commencing operations, is planning to clock a business growth of 20-30% in the next two to three years.
Initially, it will depend on its existing 67 lakh customers across the country for deposit mobilisation. Bandhan is planning to recruit about 3000-4000 people in the next few years.
Ghosh said President Pranab Mukherjee is scheduled to inaugurate the banking operations.