
Fino Payments Bank has extended the tenure of interim CEO Ketan Merchant by three months from August 27, 2026, subject to RBI approval. The decision was taken by the board's Nomination and…
Fino Payments Bank has extended the tenure of interim CEO Ketan Merchant by three months from August 27, 2026, subject to RBI approval. The decision was taken by the board's Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

Merchant was appointed interim CEO in February after the arrest of managing director and CEO Rishi Gupta by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) for alleged use of shell companies and payment aggregators to funnel illicit funds from online money gaming. Prior to this role, Merchant was the bank's chief financial officer.
The RBI had last approved Merchant's tenure extension from May 27, 2026, for three months.
The ongoing reliance on an interim CEO at Fino Payments Bank highlights governance challenges stemming from the DGGI crackdown on GST evasion in online gaming. RBI typically expects a bank to have a full-time CEO within a reasonable period, repeated extensions suggest difficulty in finding a candidate or unresolved regulatory issues. The case also underscores the banking sector's exposure to compliance risks from new-age digital payment and gaming firms. The next development to watch is the RBI's decision on the latest extension request and whether the bank announces a permanent CEO search.
The ongoing reliance on an interim CEO at Fino Payments Bank highlights governance challenges stemming from the DGGI crackdown on GST evasion in online gaming. The case underscores the banking sector's exposure to compliance risks from new-age digital payment and gaming firms. The next development to watch is the RBI's decision on the latest extension request.
Source: hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com
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