RBL Bank on Friday appointed Bhavin Lakhpatwala, a senior finance executive from HDFC Bank, as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Key Managerial Personnel with immediate effect.
The appointment comes after the CFO position remained vacant for around six months. Deepak Ruiya, who had been serving as interim CFO since December 2025, will continue as Deputy CFO, the lender said in a statement.
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Lakhpatwala joins RBL Bank from HDFC Bank, where he served as Senior Executive Vice President and was part of the bank's CFO leadership team. He previously headed Special Projects and Investor Relations and played a key role in the HDFC Bank-HDFC Ltd merger. A finance veteran with close three decades of experience, he has also held leadership roles across financial control, corporate finance, investor relations and business planning.
In a regulatory filing, RBL Bank said Lakhpatwala has extensive experience across financial control, business finance, investor relations, financial planning and analysis, corporate finance, and business intelligence. He spent over two decades at HDFC and was part of the senior management team in the CFO's office.
The appointment follows reports from earlier this week that RBL Bank was in advanced stages of appointing Lakhpatwala as CFO as it sought to complete the leadership hire ahead of the proposed acquisition by Emirates NBD. ET NOW had reported, citing sources, that Lakhpatwala was expected to play a key role in the bank's transition to a new ownership structure.
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The development also comes as Emirates NBD has secured key regulatory approvals for its proposed acquisition of a controlling stake in RBL Bank, paving the way for the transaction's completion. The appointment of a permanent CFO is expected to strengthen the bank's management team as it enters the next phase of its growth and ownership transition.
RBL Bank said Lakhpatwala's appointment takes effect from June 12, 2026.
