KVS Manian May Be Tapped As Federal Bank CEO — Exclusive

The bank is planning to send three names to the Reserve Bank of India by mid-April, the two people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Of these, Federal Bank is considering two internal candidates and one external candidate for the role of the next MD and CEO.

According to the first person quoted above, among external candidates, Federal Bank is discussing approaching KVS Manian of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. for the role.

The veteran banker becomes the most obvious choice for Federal Bank and is part of discussions, the second person quoted above said.

Manian, currently serving as the Whole Time Director, comes with three decades of experience. He spearheads the corporate, institutional and investment banking, private banking and asset reconstruction business for Kotak Mahindra Bank. During his tenure, the bank has expanded to over 600 branches and 1,000 ATMs in 10 years.

He is also responsible for setting up the retail liability business for the lender.

The veteran banker was a front-runner for the CEO position at Kotak Mahindra Bank after Uday Kotak stepped down in September 2023. However, Ashok Vaswani was appointed as the new CEO, effective Jan. 1, and Manian was retained in his current role.

NDTV Profit has previously reported that as part of the succession plan, Federal Bank is considering elevating Executive Director Shalini Warrier to the post of deputy managing director.

Since Warrier is among the most senior and experienced people at the bank, she along with Harsh Dugar, ED at Federal Bank, are being considered as front-runners for the job, both the people quoted above said.

While discussions are centered around Manian, Warrier and Dugar, the bank is yet to finalise its candidates and submit it to the RBI.

Federal Bank’s steps towards succession planning come ahead of current CEO Shyam Srinivasan nearing retirement. His current term ends in September, when he would complete 14 years as the bank’s top boss.

On Jan. 5, the RBI asked the bank to submit at least two fresh names for the MD and CEO post.

Responding to media queries in a Q3 FY24 earnings call, Srinivasan said that the RBI was not inclined to offer a one-year extension for the position.

Queries sent to Federal Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank on Feb. 14 did not elicit a response till the time of publishing this story.