Yes Bank wants to become a technology firm

Mumbai: Midsize private sector lender Yes Bank is aiming to evolve itself into a "technology company in the business of banking" and has accordingly announced a rejig of its senior management.

It has inducted Raj Ahuja, who comes with an experience in fintech, telecom and technology sectors, as chief financial officer and also realigned the job profile of the current CFO Rajat Monga wherein he will also head the digital banking and technology functions.

The appointment of Ahuja seems to be also driven by an RBI mandate that requires a bank CFO to be a chartered accountant.

"Monga will lead Yes Bank's evolution into a technology company in the business of banking, re-platforming the core technology platforms and further scaling up corporate and retail banking solutions," the city-based lender said in a statement.

The announcement comes amid intense speculation globally over the future of banking, if it will continue to be the same or if there will be a fundamental change in the way banks operate today.

A slew of Indian bank chief executives who have been appointed as heads of digital banking or information, have also cast question marks over the future model of banking. In 2016, Yes Bank had announced a four-year programme, targeting to double its market share in lending to 2.5 per cent with a loan book of Rs 1 trillion.

Under the new management structure, Monga will continue to head financial markets, balance sheet management, transaction banking and liabilities product management, but will also head the digital banking and technology functions, the bank said.

The chief digital officer and chief information officer; heads of transaction banking, financial markets and balancesheet management will report to Monga.

Ahuja, who joins from Reliance Jio where he was the CFO, will oversee financial management and will be involved in driving the financial performance, it said.