Paytm Payments Bank independent director quit after RBI crackdown

Paytm Payments Bank independent director Manju Agarwal resigned from the board following the Reserve Bank of India action.

According to a PTI report, Agarwal had resigned from the board with effect from February 1. This comes a day after the central bank barred the Paytm Payments Bank from accepting new deposits or top-ups in customer accounts, wallets, FASTags or other instruments from February 29.

The Paytm Payments Bank is an associate of One97 Communications Limited, which holds 49 per cent of the paid-up share capital (directly and through its subsidiary) of PPBL(Bloomberg)
The Paytm Payments Bank is an associate of One97 Communications Limited, which holds 49 per cent of the paid-up share capital (directly and through its subsidiary) of PPBL(Bloomberg)

The Paytm Payments Bank is an associate of One97 Communications Limited, which holds 49 per cent of the paid-up share capital (directly and through its subsidiary) of PPBL. CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma has a 51 per cent stake in the bank.

Experience Delhi’s rich history through a series of heritage walks with HT! Participate Now

On Thursday, the central bank had said that the action against Payments Bank was taken due to ‘persistent non-compliance’.

“Our emphasis is always on bilateral engagement with the regulated entities with a focus on nudging them for corrective action. And sufficient time is given for undertaking such corrective action. When such constructive engagement does not work or when the regulated entity does take effective action, we go for imposing supervisory or business restrictions,” RBI governor Shaktikanta Das had said.

Days before the RBI statement, Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma had met both RBI and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. According to reports, the central bank had refused to grant concessions to the payments gateway including the extension of February 29 deadline.

During his meeting with Sitharaman, Sharma was told by the minister that the action against Paytm Payments Bank is a regulatory issue and the government cannot help the company with.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *