Bengaluru-based startup slice on Monday said the Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Founder Rajan Bajaj as its managing director and CEO, marking a leadership transition at the fintech-led small finance bank.
Bajaj, who previously served as the executive director, will replace Satish Kumar Kalra, who continued as managing director and CEO after leading North East Small Finance Bank before its merger with slice.
Last year, the fintech startup rebranded as slice Small Finance Bank, following its merger with North East Small Finance Bank, creating what the company described as India’s first fintech bank. The merger, which received regulatory clearances, paved the way for the combined entity’s nationwide expansion plans.
Founded in 2016 as Garagepreneurs Internet Pvt Ltd, slice transitioned from a consumer fintech platform into a regulated banking entity after the 2024 merger. Bajaj, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, led the company’s lending distribution and payments businesses and established Quadrillion Finance Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned NBFC that later merged into the bank.
Over the last three quarters of FY26, slice reported a profit after tax of Rs 27.97 crore. Within a year of commencing full banking operations, more than 4 million savings accounts were opened, making it one of the fastest-growing savings products in the country, it said.
The bank serves more than 20 million registered users, employs over 3,000 people, and has raised more than $250 million from investors, including Tiger Global, Insight Partners, and Advent International.
“I am grateful to the Reserve Bank of India and our Board for the confidence they have placed in me. More people need banking in India today than at any point in our country’s history. The digital infrastructure to serve them well and at a fraction of the traditional cost now exists. And for the first time, technology makes it possible to offer every customer the kind of financial products that until recently were only available to the wealthiest few,” Bajaj said in a statement.
He added, “AI is now reaching the point where it can make banking genuinely personal at scale, understanding what each customer needs and making complex financial decisions simple. We are building with that future in mind, and we think we are still very early in what is possible.”
Eugene Emmanuel Karthak, Part-Time Chairman and Independent Director, said Bajaj “brings first-hand experience in building for the digital customer and understands how technology is reshaping the way people access financial services.”
He added that Bajaj has been clear in his ambition to expand formal credit and banking access to underserved segments.