Bandhan Bank shares jump over 12% as RBI approves Partha Sengupta as CEO

New Delhi: Shares of Bandhan Bank on Friday jumped more than 12 per cent after the Reserve Bank of India approved the appointment of Partha Pratim Sengupta as its MD and CEO for three years.

The stock of the company soared 12.38 per cent to close at Rs 211 apiece on the BSE.

On the NSE, it climbed 11.58 per cent to settle at Rs 209.44 per piece.

In terms of volume, 80.83 lakh equity shares were traded on the BSE, while 12.98 crore shares exchanged hands on the NSE during the day.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 230.05 points or 0.28 per cent to close at 81,381.36 and the NSE Nifty slipped 34.20 points or 0.14 per cent to 24,964.25.

Bandhan Bank on Thursday said that the RBI approved the appointment of Partha Pratim Sengupta as its Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer for a period of three years.

His three-year tenure counts from the date of taking charge, which shall not be later than November 10, 2024, the bank said.

Sengupta replaces founder MD and CEO Chandra Sekhar Ghosh who stepped down on July 9. Currently, Ratan Kesh, one of the executive directors, is serving as the interim MD and CEO.

In a separate filing, the bank also announced that the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company had completed an audit of loan claims filed by the lender under a guarantee scheme and said the remaining claims payout to the bank stood at Rs 314 crore.

The audit by the government agency was related to a set of loans the bank had given out as part of a government-backed scheme during the Covid-19 pandemic. The scheme was meant to ensure payments to lenders in the case of defaults on microloans by small borrowers.

Bandhan Bank was launched on August 23, 2015, with 501 branches and 50 ATMs spread across 24 states after the RBI issued in-principle approval on April 2, 2014, to set up a universal bank.

It is the first-ever microfinance institution to become a universal bank from the Eastern region.

In 2018, Bandhan Bank was successfully listed on the bourses. In 2019, the acquisition of Gruh Finance took place to provide more affordable banking solutions to homebuyers.