Background: Transformational Journey of YES Bank

ABOUT:

YES Bank Limited is an Indian private sector bank. It offers wide range of banking and financial products for corporate and retail customers through retail banking and asset management services.

TURMOIL:

Since Aug 2018, YES bank has seen a bit of turmoil. It saw a sharp increase in its impaired loans ratio and uncovered significant governance lapses that led to a complete change of management.

ROLE OF RBI:

• On March 2020, in an attempt to avoid the collapse of the bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took control and imposed moratorium on YES Bank and announced the scheme of reconstruction of the Board.
• A consortium of banks led by SBI invested in YES Bank during the reconstruction scheme and named Prashant Kumar, former Chief Financial Officer of SBI, as new MD and CEO at YES Bank.

RECONSTRUCTION SCHEME

• YES Bank undertook a systemic overhaul and has put in place a more robust corporate governance model, building on 3 pillars of transparency, commitment and accountability. 
• YES Bank’s board had 3 independent directors; 2 additional directors appointed by RBI and 2 SBI Nominee Directors.

BOARD RECONSTITUTION

YES Bank then under the guidance of RBI was keen to expand its current board and appoint several highly accomplished and reputed individuals as Independent Directors and Hunt Partners was awarded the mandate in April 2021

How was the Search Undertaken

• In this journey to reconstitute the board, YES Bank was looking to onboard new Independent Directors. Their current board constitutes mainly of RBI and SBI Nominees and 3 Independent Directors. Hunt Partners was mandated the search in April 2021.
• It was not a usual ID search. It came with its unique challenges which needed a lot of focus on selling the entire transformational journey of YES Bank.
• With immense support from the Board and NRC, Hunt Partners was able to onboard two highly accomplished Independent Directors.
• Keeping in mind all regulatory requirements and ensuring no conflicts including lending relationships with the bank.
• On September 01, 2021, YES Bank announced appointments of Rekha Murthy and Atul Malik as Non-Executive Directors.

About the Directors Appointed:

• Atul Malik – Malik is a veteran banker with more than 30 years of widespread experience. He is presently serving as a Senior Advisor to TPG for their financial services portfolio. He represents TPG as the Chairman of UBC, one of the largest private sector banks in Sri Lanka.
• Rekha Murthy – Murthy possesses 30 years of extensive global experience in the Technology sector across India, Asia Pacific and the USA. She has held senior and country leadership roles at leading global companies such as IBM, Harvard Business School Publishing, Wyse Technology, SAP, People Soft, etc.