slice Adds Former SBI, ICICI Bank Executives To Its Board

slice Small Finance Bank (SFB) has appointed former SBI chief general manager Samir Sawhney as executive director and former ICICI Bank senior executive Ramesh Kumar as independent directors on its board. 

Both appointments have received the approval of the bank’s board. The RBI has also approved Sawhney’s appointment as executive director, slice said in a statement. 

Sawhney brings more than three decades of banking experience across treasury and investment management, retail operations, marketing, and human resources. 

Until recently, he served as the chief executive of RMBS Development Company, an entity set up by the National Housing Bank to develop India’s residential mortgage-backed securities market.

Prior to that, Sawhney spent more than 34 years at SBI. As the bank’s chief general manager of global markets, he headed its treasury operations and managed a domestic portfolio exceeding ₹16.5 Lakh Cr and foreign assets of more than $10 Bn.

He also served as the chairman of the Foreign Exchange Dealers’ Association of India (FEDAI), representing banks in their engagement with the RBI on foreign exchange matters. 

Meanwhile, Kumar has more than 30 years of experience across banking, financial services, technology, and digital transformation.

He spent two decades at ICICI Bank as the head of its technology management group and software development functions. In the role, Kumar oversaw the bank’s technology strategy, infrastructure, and mobile and digital banking platforms.

Before joining ICICI Bank, he led the implementation of SBI’s core banking platform. His areas of expertise include technology governance, cybersecurity, operational resilience, and digital transformation, slice said.

Kumar also advised slice during its integration and merger with North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB).

Commenting on the appointments, slice MD and CEO Rajan Bajaj said, “We are a young bank earning its place among the best-run institutions in India. Having people on our board who have seen banking across cycles, and who believe in what technology can do for the customer, makes us stronger.”

The appointments come about six months after the RBI approved Bajaj’s appointment as the MD and CEO of slice SFB. 

Founded by Bajaj in 2016, slice initially operated as a fintech startup offering consumer payments and credit products, including buy-now-pay-later services. 

However, the RBI’s decision to bar NBFCs from loading credit lines onto prepaid payment instruments forced the startup to pivot its business. It subsequently expanded into personal loans and UPI payments.

The startup completed its merger with NESFB in October 2024, bringing together the operations, assets, and brands of the two entities. Following shareholder and regulatory approvals, the merged entity was renamed slice Small Finance Bank in February 2025.

On the financial front, slice reported a profit after tax (PAT) of ₹50.9 Cr in the June quarter of the financial year 2026-27 (Q1 FY27) as against a net loss of ₹10.1 Cr in the year-ago quarter.  Meanwhile, its total income rose 38.6% to ₹413.8 Cr during the quarter from ₹298.6 Cr in Q1 FY26. Sequentially, total income increased 3.5% from ₹399.7 Cr.   

Before the merger, slice raised about $380 Mn from investors including Tiger Global, Insight Partners, Advent International’s Sunley House Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, Anfa and Gunosy Capital. It entered the unicorn club in 2021 after raising $220 Mn in its Series B funding round.

The post slice Adds Former SBI, ICICI Bank Executives To Its Board appeared first on Inc42 Media.