It will also review its provisioning policy to create an adequate buffer against credit risk.
The holding company of the bank,
, had earlier expressed concerns over asset classification, bad loan recognition and the ad-hoc bad loan provisioning under chief executive Nitin Chugh, who resigned last week.
The bank on Wednesday appointed Carol Furtado as office on special duty to manage day-to-day operations in the bank till Chugh’s official exit on September 30.
“The bank is undertaking an independent portfolio quality & process audit. We look towards streamlining the provisioning policy. We are confident of strengthening the organisation and emerging as a stronger Ujjivan,” founder of the bank Samit Ghosh said. Ghosh is the common director on the boards of the bank and the holding company.
“With the provision coverage ratio of 75%, the highest in the industry, we are very well positioned,” he added.
After Chugh’s exit, Furtado will be appointed as an interim CEO, subject to regulator’s approval, the company announced Wednesday after its board gave the stamp of approval on the proposal.
The bank also said that it will begin the search for the next full-time CEO and submit two names to the Reserve Bank of India seeking its approval.
In parallel, the bank has also appointed former Andhra Bank chairman BA Prabhakar as its chairman.
ET had highlighted the possibility of both the move immediately after Chugh’s resignation became public.
Furtado, part of the founding team of Ujjivan Financial Services since 2005, will be leading the charge of handling the day-to-day operations from August 26, the company said. Post September 30, she will take charge as the Interim CEO, subject to regulator’s approval.
Ujjivan Financial Services is the holding company for Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, which started its journey in February 2017.
“Carol has been our go to person during any major crisis. I am sure she will lead us out of this Covid crisis with flying colours,” said Ghosh.
Furtado has spearheaded the organisation on numerous occasions, playing critical roles in asset quality management and HR. “Her extensive experience, over a decade and a half, across business, operations, and HR, along with her expertise in leading Ujjivan, through various crises, make her an ideal candidate,” the company said.
