By Ashwin Manikandan and Siddhi Nayak
BENGALURU/MUMBAI (Reuters) – Indian private lender Yes Bank has appointed veteran banker Sumit Bali to head its retail business and collections, three sources directly familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Bali will join Yes Bank from Aug. 26 and report to executive director Rajan Pental, one of the sources said.
The banker, who headed retail lending for India’s third largest private lender Axis Bank, had quit in June. Friday is his last day at Axis Bank.
The sources did not wish to be identified as they are not allowed to speak with the media.
Yes Bank did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.
Bali has almost three decades of experience in retail banking, and worked at Kotak Mahindra Bank before joining Axis Bank, where he worked in multiple roles.
At Yes Bank, his role will be crucial “as the bank is now entering its transformational phase in its hunt to find a new promoter”, the second source said.
Yes Bank’s loan book stood at approximately 2.30 trillion rupees ($27.39 billion) as on June 30, of which 60% was made up of retail and small and medium enterprise loans.
Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Dubai-based Emirates <NBD ENBD.DU> are in advanced talks to acquire a majority stake in Yes Bank, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
($1 = 83.9575 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak in Mumbai and Ashwin Manikandan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
