Vijay Shekhar Sharma resigns as Paytm Payments Bank chairman | Top Vip News

Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma has resigned as part-time non-executive chairman of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) ahead of the March 15 deadline to wind down his business.

PPBL has also reconstituted its board of directors with the appointment of former Central Bank of India Chairman Srinivasan Sridhar, retired IAS officer Debendranath Sarangi, former Bank of Baroda CEO Ashok Kumar Garg and former IAS officer Rajni Sekhri Sibal, One 97 Communications. Limited said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

“The company has been separately informed that Vijay Shekhar Sharma has also resigned from the board of directors of Paytm Payments Bank to enable this transition. PPBL has informed us that they will begin the process of appointing a new chairman,” the document said.

Sharma owns a 51% stake in Paytm Payments Bank, while One 97 Communications, as Paytm is formally known, owns the rest.

The experience of the new board members will be “instrumental in guiding us towards improving our governance structures and operational standards, further solidifying our dedication to compliance and best practices,” said Paytm Payments Bank CEO Surinder Chawla .

The decision comes amid the RBI’s crackdown on the payments bank over persistent defaults and supervisory concerns.

The banking regulator had ordered the fintech company to stop its banking activities after February 29 and later extended the deadline until March 15.

“The comprehensive system audit report and subsequent compliance validation report by external auditors revealed persistent non-compliance and continuing significant supervisory concerns at the bank, warranting further supervisory measures,” the RBI said in a statement in its website.

The RBI said the bank will no longer be able to accept deposits or carry out credit transactions or top-up customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets or toll payment cards. However, interest, refunds or refunds may be credited at any time.

The troubled company is likely to partner with Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India and Yes Bank to process transactions through the popular Unified Payments Interface (UPI), according to Reuters.