Inside the change of guard at RBL Bank

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Editor's note: On Monday, when shares of RBL Bank fell 22%, there was a sense of deja vu. Back in December 2021, when Vishwavir Ahuja, then CEO and managing director of the bank, “proceeded on leave with immediate effect”, the financial markets had reacted in similar fashion. Vishwavir Ahuja’s exit was preceded by a rare intervention by the Reserve Bank of India, one that saw the central bank appoint one of its chief general managers, Yogesh Dayal, to the board of the bank. For the markets, this brought back memories of the collapse of Yes Bank, and that is why, when they opened on 27 December 2021, RBL Bank’s shares fell 18.3%, despite assurances by interim CEO Rajeev Ahuja on the stability of the bank over the preceding weekend. To stem the slide and allay investors’ fears, RBI issued a release stating that all was well at the bank. That said, its intervention wasn’t sudden. It came after almost 20 months of back and forth with Vishwavir Ahuja on key issues pertaining to the health of RBL Bank. Six months on, with …