Equitas Small Finance Bank Managing Director and CEO P. N. Vasudevan has resigned, saying investors linked a perceived conflict involving his daughter’s role at a finance company to the bank’s stock performance.
The bank said in an Oct. 29 filing that its board agreed to the resignation. Vasudevan will remain in his role until a successor takes over; his departure becomes effective at handover, and the bank will announce the date later.
In his letter, Vasudevan said his daughter is a co-promoter of a nonbanking financial company (NBFC) that received a license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2023. He said he had disclosed her role to Equitas’ board and the RBI.
He said the bank and the NBFC had no dealings beyond one short-term deposit placed about two and a half years earlier and repaid at maturity, and that there had been no loans between them. The filing does not identify the company or report that Equitas or the RBI found a conflict.
“I am told by investors that this ‘overhang’ is causing the stock to underperform,” Vasudevan wrote. He said leaving could help the share price better reflect the bank’s financial strength and benefit shareholders and employees.
Vasudevan said he plans to pursue personal and social initiatives. The filing traces Equitas’ roots to a microfinance institution established in 2007 and its transition to a small finance bank in 2016.
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, Equitas reported net profit of ₹218.04 crore, compared with ₹24.14 crore in the year-earlier quarter. The bank described the increase as 803% year over year and said total business exceeded ₹1 trillion.
The bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee will recommend internal or external candidates. Any appointment requires RBI and other applicable approvals.
