slice appoints Arvind Kathpalia as Chief Risk Advisor

By Gloria Mathias

Slice, India’s consumer payments and lending company, has appointed Arvind Kathpalia as its Chief Risk Advisor.

With a career spanning more than three decades in financial services, Kathpalia brings a wealth of experience and expertise to drive forward the company’s commitment to unparalleled financial integrity and risk management amid its ongoing merger with Northeast Small Finance Bank (NESFB).

In his new capacity, Mr. Kathpalia will play a pivotal role beyond traditional risk advisory. He will be instrumental in enhancing the capabilities of the newly formed banking entity by fortifying and implementing slice’s in-house underwriting tools and robust risk framework as it merges with NESFB.

Previously, Mr. Kathpalia served as President and Group Chief Risk Officer at Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited. He was instrumental in developing frameworks for identifying, assessing, mitigating, and monitoring credit, market, operational, and liquidity risk across the Kotak Group. He was also a key member of the bank’s Executive Board, overseeing its growth initiatives and driving integrated risk management across the group.

Arvind Kathpalia stated, “It is quite inspiring to witness the dynamic transformation in India’s financial ecosystem, driven by innovative companies that are not merely altering but revolutionizing the landscape. slice is a quintessential example of such innovation, and I’m excited to join the team. I look forward to lending my expertise to further enhance the already robust risk management systems in place at the company.”

Rajan Bajaj, Founder-CEO of slice, said, “At slice, we’ve always built for the present and now we are looking at strengthening our future. We are delighted to have Mr. Arvind Kathpalia on board as a key advisor. Mr. Kathpalia’s industry expertise will not only guide slice to scale its existing risk management but also prove beneficial for the new banking entity. We look forward to creating the best and most efficient risk management system in India under his guidance and direction.”

slice recently received approval from the Competition Commission of India for its merger with NESFB.