Pralay Mondal, executive director for retail banking at Axis Bank, has resigned his position at the private-sector lender and maybe headed to another bank.
Mondal resigned with effect from September 14, the bank said in a statement. He is leaving “to pursue other career opportunities”, Axis Bank said, without elaborating.
In a separate statement, Mondal said: “It’s an unanticipated but unavoidable development owing to some personal compulsions.”
Mondal had joined Axis Bank barely months after Amitabh Chaudhury took over as the new CEO and managing director, replacing Shikha Sharma.
According to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to VCCircle on the condition of anonymity, Mondal has quit to take charge of a small private-sector lender. The name of the bank could not be ascertained.
The person added that Axis will soon name a new head for the retail business. “Axis Bank doesn’t need to hunt for talent outside, there are a lot of people within the organisation who can step up,” this person said.
Meanwhile, CNBC-TV reported that Mondal may join as head of CSB Bank. The Kerala-based lender, earlier known as Catholic Syrian Bank, is controlled by India-born Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings. The investment firm had acquired a 51% stake in CSB in 2018.
CSB Bank had re-appointed Rajendran Chinna Veerappan as its managing director and CEO in December 2019 for three years through December 8, 2022. Rajendran told CNBC-TV18 television channel he wasn’t aware of Mondal’s reported movement to the bank and that it was media speculation.
Mondal, an IIT-Kharagpur and IIM-Calcutta alumnus, has 30 years of experience in the banking sector. He moved to Axis Bank in April 2019 from Yes Bank, where also he was heading retail banking.
Before that, he was instrumental in building the retail loan book at HDFC Bank. Previously, Mondal has worked with Standard Chartered Bank, Wipro Infotech and Colgate-Palmolive.
