NEW DELHI: Several top-level resignations and the delayed disclosure of these exits have irked investors of AU Small Finance Bank.
In an investor call, MD & CEO Sanjay Agarwal said that the bank has “nothing to hide” while trying to allay such concerns, but both analysts and investors are still not convinced. They expect the bank to arrest top-level churn and bring more transparency.
“We believe the bank’s management needs to come out clean and explain the back-to-back resignations as a damage control measure. It also needs to be more transparent and should make timely disclosures to avoid unpleasant surprises,” according to Anand Dama, head (BFSI), Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd.
On Tuesday, the bank’s stocks slumped 13% after it informed the exchanges that Sumit Dhir, head of the bank’s internal audit team, resigned due to personal reasons.
On August 29, AU Small Finance Bank disclosed that Alok Gupta would be leaving his role as chief risk officer, after he joined earlier this year.
Gupta resigned from his position in July, however, the bank only disclosed it last week. Gupta’s exit comes months after the resignation of Nitin Gupta, chief audit officer at the bank, in March.
In a statement, AU Small Finance Bank clarified that Dhir has expressed his desire to move back to his hometown due to changes in his personal situation post the Covid second wave, but the bank is trying to retain him.
Notably, personal health reasons were cited after the resignation of its chief risk officer as well.