Slice taps ex-Kotak exec as risk advisor amid NESFB merger

Consumer payment startup Slice has appointed Arvind Kathpalia as its Chief Risk Advisor as the company gears for its merger with North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB). 

In his new role, Kathpalia is expected to go beyond traditional risk advisory roles, he is expected to apply slice’s in-house underwriting tools and risk framework for the newly formed banking activity. 

Before joining Slice, Kathpalia served as President and Group Chief Risk Officer at Kotak Mahindra, where he was responsible for developing frameworks for identifying, assessing, mitigating, and monitoring risks including credit, market, operational, and liquidity at the Kotak Group. Prior to that, he held multiple positions at Standard Chartered and ANZ Grindlays. 

Competition watchdog Competition Commission of India on March 13 approved Slice’s merger with NESFB. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave the no-objection certificate (NOC) to the transaction in October 2023. 

Slice anticipates the deal will enable the company to get deposits from the public, thereby reducing its lending costs and providing it with a competitive edge over other fintech firms in the lending sector.

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Tiger Global and Insight Partners-backed Slice provides credit and payment services to college students and new-to-job employees. In February 2023, the company made the UPI-first account available for all its users following a three-month beta testing period with its existing customer base. 

Garagepreneurs Internet Private Limited, the parent company of Slice, nearly tripled its revenues from operations to Rs 846.74 crore compared with Rs 283 crore earned in the preceding fiscal year. Its interest income on loans surged more than 3.5X, reaching Rs 471.81 crore in FY23.