Vinod Rai, a former comptroller and auditor general of India, has been appointed by the Reserve Bank of India as the independent chairman of Unity Bank SFB, a joint venture between Centrum Group and Bharat Pe.
The SFB has appointed Sandip Ghose, a veteran, Basant Seth, the former chairman and managing director of erstwhile Syndicate Bank, and Subhash Kutte, former chairman of RBL Bank, to its board to guide its journey towards becoming a successful digital bank.
Unity SFB started its operations in November last year after receiving a final nod from the central bank. The joint venture was given a bank licence to take over the beleaguered Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank. Unity Bank is in the process of acquiring the assets and liabilities of PMC Bank under RBI's resolution for the bank.
Prior to being appointed as the independent chairman of Unity SFB, Rai was the chairman of the Banks Board Bureau, a body that advises the central government on top-level appointments at public sector banks and ways to address bad loans. He was also associated with IDFC Limited, the holding company of IDFC First Bank. Rai was the independent director at IDFC for two terms.
Rai's vast experience as a board member in multiple public sector banks and private banks will help in building a strong foundation and shaping the long term strategy at Unity Bank, for customer delight through a seamless digital banking experience, the bank said in a statement.