Amitabh Chaturvedi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Thrissur-based Dhanlaxmi Bank, on Monday resigned, reportedly after serious differences of opinion with the board of directors. P. G. Jayakumar, Executive Director, is expected to take charge, sources here said.
The bank's management denied rumours that Mr. Chaturvedi was asked to resign. Mr. Chaturvedi, assumed charge in October, 2008, and followed a path of aggressive expansion of branch network, recruiting a large number of new hands over a period of three years. He led Dhanlaxmi Bank's charge into micro finance, making it a lead player in Kerala with a market exposure of over Rs.250 crore in the segment.
He expanded the bank's presence to 14 States from the six at the time of his taking over. The bank's total business stood at Rs.21,595 crore as on March 31, 2011.
However, bank officers under the All India Bank Officers' Confederation have been alleging financial irregularities, accusing the management of cooking the books. Though the allegations were denied, the Reserve Bank of India issued a Monitorable Action Plan in November, 2011, asking the bank to follow the guidelines for the stipulated period.
Meanwhile, the bank's profitability has been sinking, the second quarter of the current financial year seeing a net profit of just over Rs.4 crore.
The third quarter is reportedly even worse with the bank fearing losses.
The bank's share price (Rs. 56.30 on Monday), was seen swinging from Rs.135.90 to Rs.42.40 in the 52-week period.
