RBI approves Ketan Merchant's appointment as interim CEO of Fino Bank
09 Mar 2026, 11:59 AMThe appointment comes after Rishi Gupta, MD and CEO, was arrested late last month under the GST Act.
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Ketan Merchant as interim CEO of Fino Payments Bank.
The appointment comes after Rishi Gupta, MD and CEO, was arrested late last month under the GST Act.
Merchant has been appointed interim CEO for a period of three months with effect from February 27, 2026 or till Gupta resumes office, post reassessment of his fit and proper status by the board and a view is taken by the RBI, whichever is earlier, said Fino Payments Bank in a filing to the stock exchange.
Merchant, who was serving as chief financial officer at Fino Payments Bank, had joined the lender in 2018. He previously worked at Digicel Pacific, Bank M Group, Barclays, Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC.
Gupta's arrest has come as a shock to the industry. He has been part of the founding team of Fino since 2006 when he was responsible for responsible for finance and corporate functions including strategic alliances.
Just in January, the board of Fino Payments Bank had reappointed Gupta as managing director and CEO for a period of three consecutive years commencing from May 2, 2026 till May 1, 2029.
The Head and Tale went behind the announcement of Gupta's arrest to understand the circumstances and questions surrounding the case.
Fino Payments Bank, was founded in 2006 as a payments technology company. It became the first profitable payments bank in 2020 and was listed on the bourses in 2021.
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