ESAF Small Finance Bank has appointed Karthikeyan Manickam as the Chairman of the Bank. He is a former Executive Director of Bank of India and brings with him over 36 years of rich experience in public sector banking.
Karthikeyan possesses deep expertise across key areas, including banking operations, risk management, regulatory compliance, human resources management, credit monitoring and recovery, financial inclusion, and customer-centric banking.
As Chairman, Karthikeyan will provide strategic guidance and independent oversight to the Board, supporting the Bank’s continued focus on inclusive banking, improving asset quality, regulatory compliance, sustainable growth, and consistently high standards of customer service, thereby reinforcing stakeholder confidence in an increasingly dynamic financial environment.
During his tenure as Executive Director at Bank of India, Karthikeyan was part of the top management team and played a pivotal role in shaping policies and strategies across multiple portfolios, including risk management, inspection and audit, stressed asset resolution, retail banking, agriculture and MSME financing, government business, CSR, marketing, and financial inclusion.
Earlier in his career, he held several senior leadership positions at Indian Bank. He has also served on the boards of Tamil Nadu Grama Bank and BOI STAR Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd., and was the Chairman of Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company Limited (SUD Life).
