CEO & MD Rishi Gupta Seeks Early Retirement From Fino Payments Bank Amid Leadership Transition
Rishi Gupta has sought voluntary early retirement from his position of Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director (CEO & MD) of Fino Payments Bank to pursue opportunities outside the company.
Based on the documents available with the bank, including legal opinions and related reports, the Board said that no prima facie case was made out against Gupta. The Board also stated that Gupta continued to remain “fit and proper” to serve as the bank’s CEO & MD.
However, through a letter dated May 21, Gupta sought voluntary early retirement from his position with effect from Thursday. The Board accepted his request.
Gupta is also the Founding Member of Fino Payment Bank. He played a key role in the company’s transition from a fintech platform to a payments bank and led the lender to profitability within three years of its launch in 2017. He also oversaw the bank’s listing on Indian stock exchanges in November 2021, making it the first payments bank in the country to go public. As a Founding Member of Fino PayTech, the parent company of Fino Payments Bank, Gupta has been involved in the company’s growth and expansion strategy. He currently represents the bank at the Payments Council of India. Under his leadership, the bank has focused on expanding digital banking services in rural and semi-urban markets across India.
To ensure continuity in leadership, the bank extended the appointment of Ketan Merchant as interim CEO & MD for up to three months from May 27, subject to approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The company also extended the term of Anup Agarwal as interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for up to three months from July 6, 2026.
Merchant is a Chartered Accountant by profession. He joined the bank in 2018 after holding leadership roles at HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Barclays in India and overseas markets. With 27 years of banking experience, Merchant has worked across balance sheet management, retail banking, and governance functions at Fino Payments Bank. He has also been involved in shaping the bank’s business strategy and played a role in its stock market listing in 2021. Merchant has contributed to the bank’s retail banking model since its early years and currently focuses on growth strategies under the company’s Fino 2.0 vision.
Agarwal is a Chartered Accountant with 20 years of experience in finance and banking. He has been associated with Fino Payments Bank since June 2022 and currently leads finance, investor relations, and analytics functions at the bank. Before joining Fino Payments Bank, he held positions at Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, and Maersk. During his career, he has worked across financial reporting, regulatory reporting, operational risk, financial control, and financial analytics. At Fino Payments Bank, Agarwal has been involved in overseeing financial management, analytics, and investor-related functions as the lender continues to expand its banking and digital financial services operations.
