Sachin Bansal has stepped down as the independent director of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, a role he took charge of in May 2019. In a letter to the board members, posted on the exchanges on Tuesday, Bansal said he is resigning in the interest of propriety and to prevent conflict of interest arising out of the fact that his wholly-owned firm Navi Technologies has applied for a banking license.
“Given an entity owned and controlled by me has made an application to the RBI for a universal banking license, I felt it was — in the interest of propriety and corporate governance — only appropriate that I stepped down from this role,” Bansal said in the letter.
“I take this opportunity to place on record my appreciation for the support extended to me by the Board during my tenure. It has been a sincere pleasure to serve on the Board and I wish the management of the Bank every success,” he said, adding that there is “no other material reason” for his resignation.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, became operational in December 2019. It had appointed the Flipkart co-founder Bansal in a bid to get advice on technology as it embarked on aggressive expansion. Since exiting Flipkart in May 2018, Bansal is adding to his experience in financial services and a stop-over at Ujjivan was part of the larger plan.
Bansal, who sold a $1 billion from selling his shares in Flipkart to Walmart, is developing a full-service digital bank. Through his technology company Navi Technologies, he has acquired financial services assets like micro-finance firm Chaitanya Chaitanya India Fin Credit, DHFL General Insurance and Essel Mutual Funds.
Navi Technologies is also the applicant for a universal bank license, which is currently pending approval from the Reserve Bank of India.
