Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) has submitted a list of three candidates for the position of MD and CEO to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for approval, the lender said in a regulatory filing.
“The bank’s board in a meeting held on June 18 has finalised the names of three candidates, in the order of preference, in accordance with the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and the extant norms prescribed by RBI,” it added.
Sources aware of the development said the interview process of the candidates were completed a week before and the names were sent to the regulator for approval. “We expect the regulatory approvals and other formalities to be completed in 45 days,” they added.
The development comes after the banking regulator, in April, rejected three candidates proposed by the Tuticorin-headquartered bank as “not suitable” and approved a committee of experts (CoE) to oversee its administration and operations earlier this month.
RBI and TMB did not respond to an email query till the time of going to press.
TMB has been struggling to find a successor to former MD & CEO S Krishnan, who resigned in September 2023, citing “personal reasons”, just a year after his appointment.
His resignation came in the backdrop of a technical glitch that led to the erroneous credit of Rs 9,000 crore into a cab driver’s account in September last year. The bank had then said that the mistake was quickly identified, the entries were immediately reversed and strong control measures were put in place.
TMB ran several newspaper advertisements inviting applications for the post of new MD & CEO ever since Krishnan’s resignation was announced. In November last year, it sent three names to RBI for approval, which were rejected in April, forcing the bank to begin the search process once again.
Krishnan continued to lead the bank for nine months while awaiting a replacement. However, on June 7, TMB announced that its board had agreed to relieve him of his duties.
It also stated that RBI had approved the appointment of a CoE as an interim measure to oversee operations and administration for a period of three months or until a new MD & CEO assumes charge, whichever comes first. The CoE comprises S Narayanan, general manager (credit), D Ramesh, general manager (HR), and PR Ashok Kumar, Ggeneral manager (PDRM).
This marked the first instance in the century-long history of the bank, with a total business of around Rs 90,000 crore, that it is being managed by a CoE.
According to a second source familiar with the situation, the candidates nominated previously sent included people with general manager cadre experience. However, the regulator sought individuals with extensive experience at the MD & CEO or executive director (ED) level spanning decades.