Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited names interim MD & CEO

Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited named Balaji Nuthalapadi interim Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer from November 6, 2026 after Reserve Bank of India approval, with a term of up to three months or until a regular MD & CEO is appointed earlier. The arrangement followed P. N. Vasudevan’s immediate departure on the same date.

What did RBI approve for Equitas Small Finance Bank?

The Reserve Bank of India approved Balaji Nuthalapadi’s appointment as Equitas Small Finance Bank’s interim MD & CEO on November 6, 2026. The bank said it received the approval letter, numbered CO.DOR.HGG.No. S6391/29-44-002/20262027, at 14:38 hours and its board took note of the clearance later that day.

The approval covers a three-month term from November 6, 2026, or an earlier end if Equitas Small Finance Bank appoints a regular MD & CEO. Nuthalapadi was already the bank’s Whole-Time Director and Executive Director when he assumed the interim role, making this an internal transition rather than an outside interim appointment.

Equitas Small Finance Bank disclosed the decision after its board meeting on November 6, 2026, which began at 17:40 hours and concluded at 19:20 hours. The filing was made under Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations, 2015.

Why did Equitas Small Finance Bank change its MD & CEO?

Equitas Small Finance Bank changed its MD & CEO after P. N. Vasudevan requested to be relieved from the bank’s services at the earliest in a letter dated November 5, 2026. The board approved his release with immediate effect on November 6, 2026, the date on which the RBI-approved interim arrangement began.

The bank’s annexure records Vasudevan’s change as a resignation, with November 6, 2026 as the cessation date. It describes Nuthalapadi’s appointment as interim MD & CEO as consequent to Vasudevan’s resignation, linking the departure and succession action in the same board disclosure.

Equitas Small Finance Bank’s board recorded its appreciation for Vasudevan’s leadership and contribution over the years. Apart from his November 5, 2026 request for early relief and the classification of the change as a resignation, the filing gives no reason for his departure or information on a subsequent role.

Who is Balaji Nuthalapadi at Equitas Small Finance Bank?

Balaji Nuthalapadi has been Whole-Time Director and Executive Director of Equitas Small Finance Bank since March 29, 2025. His November 6, 2026 appointment therefore places a director already serving on the bank’s management team into the interim MD & CEO role.

Nuthalapadi completed his post-graduation at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad in 1996, according to the annexure. He started his career with Citi in Chennai in 1997 and had more than 28 years of continuous experience with Citi across assignments in Asia-Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa markets.

His stated Citi positions included Head of South Asia Operations & Technology from May 2021. From September 2024, his latest disclosed role was Managing Director and Head of Centralized Controls Testing Execution, before his March 2025 appointment as Equitas Small Finance Bank’s Executive Director.

The bank lists Nuthalapadi’s experience across global capability centre leadership, operations and technology, profit-and-loss leadership, sales and wealth management, banking products, re-engineering, retail asset sales and relationship management. It also says he was a member of the Tamilnadu State Fintech Governing Council, but does not specify his prior operating responsibilities at Equitas Small Finance Bank before November 6, 2026.

How long can Nuthalapadi serve as interim MD & CEO?

Nuthalapadi can serve as Equitas Small Finance Bank’s interim MD & CEO for three months from November 6, 2026, unless a regular MD & CEO is appointed sooner. The appointment has both a time-based limit and an event-based end condition under the RBI-approved terms.

The filing does not say that Nuthalapadi will become the regular MD & CEO after the three-month period. Equitas Small Finance Bank also did not disclose a search committee, a candidate, an extension process or a target date for choosing a permanent MD & CEO in its November 6, 2026 announcement.

What other disclosure did Equitas Small Finance Bank make?

Equitas Small Finance Bank said its trading window would be closed for designated persons and their immediate relatives on November 7 and November 8, 2026, and would reopen on November 9, 2026. The restriction was announced under the bank’s code of conduct for regulating, monitoring and reporting insider trading in its securities.

The trading-window action applies to the specified designated persons and their immediate relatives, rather than to all market participants. Equitas Small Finance Bank separately identified its National Stock Exchange symbol as EQUITASBNK and listed BSE scrip code 543243, along with codes 976218, 976979 and 978223, in the November 6, 2026 filing.

Conclusion

Equitas Small Finance Bank has established an RBI-approved interim succession arrangement following Vasudevan’s resignation and immediate release on November 6, 2026. Nuthalapadi, an Executive Director since March 29, 2025 with more than 28 years of stated Citi experience, will lead the bank on an interim basis rather than as a confirmed permanent successor.

The next disclosed development to watch is the appointment of a regular MD & CEO, because that decision would end Nuthalapadi’s term before its three-month limit from November 6, 2026. Equitas Small Finance Bank has not disclosed a candidate, selection process or expected date, leaving the timing of the permanent appointment unresolved.