Originals · Startup · Startups & Fintech
RBI clears Pratap Singh as Fino Payments Bank's MD and CEO, ending months of interim leadership
The former ICICI Bank UK retail and SME head takes charge for three years from November 27, subject to shareholder approval.
The Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Pratap Singh as managing director and chief executive of Fino Payments Bank for three years, the bank told the stock exchanges on November 13. According to the filing, the RBI's letter dated November 12 clears the appointment with effect from November 27, 2026, or the date he takes charge, whichever is earlier. The board will now take steps to appoint him, and the appointment needs shareholder approval.
Singh has more than 29 years of banking experience in India and the UK, according to the profile the bank filed. He has worked at ICICI Bank in India, ICICI Bank UK and SBI UK. At ICICI Bank UK he was head of retail and SME banking for the UK and Europe, where the bank says he led a shift from a corporate led franchise to a broader retail and SME platform built around current accounts, remittances, property lending, corridor banking and digital channels. In India he ran large retail and SME zones for ICICI Bank.
The appointment fills a gap at the top. Moneycontrol reported that former MD and CEO Rishi Gupta stepped down on May 21 after seeking voluntary early retirement, following his arrest in February by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence in Hyderabad in an investigation involving business partners of several banks. Fino said at the time that the probe related to its business partners and not to the bank's own GST compliance, and its board later said it found no prima facie case against Gupta. Ketan Merchant, then the chief financial officer, has been leading the bank as interim CEO, BusinessLine and Moneycontrol reported.
The new chief arrives at a difficult moment. bharat.digital reported in October that Fino posted a net loss of Rs 20.9 crore for the September quarter, its second loss making quarter in a row, while its digital payments arm stayed shut. A permanent, RBI approved chief executive gives the bank a settled leader for that turnaround, though the appointment still has to clear a shareholder vote.
