Gtb Appoints Panel To Anchor Affairs

The board of Global Trust Bank (GTB) today appointed an interim management committee to look after the affairs at the bank following the resignation of chairman and managing director R S Hugar.

GTB director and promoter Jayant Madhab said the board has accepted the resignation of Hugar. "He put in his papers on personal grounds. When Hugar was appointed, he wanted to be at the bank's helm only for six-to-nine months," Madhab said.

"The committee will head the bank till a new chairman is appointed. The new person will be identified in four-to-six weeks," Madhab said.

The members of the interim management committee are former Small Industries Development Bank of India chairman Shailendra Narain, former National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development chairman P Kotaiah, Venkappa M Aggadi and Ravi Appasamy -- all members of the bank's board. Narain will head the panel.

Narain said that during Hugar's tenure the bank had added 80,000 new customers, opened nine branches and 25 automated teller machines (ATMs).

The capital market exposure of the bank was brought down by Rs 350 crore, while Rs 250 crore was recovered from difficult accounts.

According to Hugar, "the decision to resign was not suddenly taken. Though I wanted to step down around a month-and-a half before, I continued with the bank as certain responsibilities had to be completed. When I took charge in April, I had said that I would like to be relieved in six-nine months. The bank has overcome the initial hiccups."

"GTB will now focus on the retail segment. The target business level for March 2002 is set at Rs 13,500 crore. The bank plans to increase the branch network by 14 to 100, while the ATM network is seen increased at 200 by the end of the fiscal," said Madhab.