Chief Operating Officer — Transaction-Banking Franchise

The mandate

The board has concluded that incremental adjustment will not resolve operating complexity that has outgrown the current governance model within a listed regulated universal or specialist bank. The immediate arena is the transaction-banking franchise during a succession transition. For mandate 071, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Operating Officer operating perimeter covers approximately ₹86,350 crore in loan and deposit book, with activity spanning several transaction-banking franchise customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Operating Officer Banking remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,050 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a Chief Operating Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the transaction-banking franchise. The Chief Operating Officer Banking seat must resolve a succession transition, while preserving the underlying strengths of the transaction-banking franchise. For mandate 071, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Operating Officer’s first year on the transaction-banking franchise is expected to end with delivery reliability, productivity and end-to-end accountability. In mandate 071, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created Chief Operating Officer — Transaction-Banking Franchise seat approved as part of the next operating model; it is not an incumbent replacement. The board is running a planned 4–6 month search so the appointee can join ahead of the next capital and talent cycle. Current leaders retain their existing accountabilities until the transaction-banking franchise remit is formally activated. Confidentiality protects organisation design choices while the board compares external and adjacent-sector talent.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Operating Officer value-creation thesis for the transaction-banking franchise, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ₹86,350 crore in loan and deposit book, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Operating Officer Banking organisation of about 1,050 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the transaction-banking franchise economics and execution constraints created by a succession transition, with Chief Operating Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Operating Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the transaction-banking franchise; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have carried end-to-end delivery accountability across multiple sites, channels or markets with quantified service and cost outcomes in mandate 071.
• Build the Chief Operating Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the transaction-banking franchise, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Banking organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the transaction-banking franchise baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to operating complexity that has outgrown the current governance model, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Operating Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the transaction-banking franchise, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable transaction-banking franchise trend against delivery reliability, productivity and end-to-end accountability, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Operating Officer’s agreed first-year transaction-banking franchise value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Operating Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the transaction-banking franchise’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Operating Officer mandate’s highest-priority transaction-banking franchise risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical transaction-banking franchise talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Operating Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Operating Officer-owned improvement in the transaction-banking franchise operating constraint behind a succession transition, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 071: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a COO, EVP Operations or Business Operations President in a listed Banking or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the transaction-banking franchise, your Chief Operating Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from financial services, payments, lending, insurance or regulated fintech will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Operating Officer brief.

As a Chief Operating Officer candidate, you bring 18–22 years of progressive Banking or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 18-22 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of ₹50,100 crore and led an organisation of at least 1,000 people.

For mandate 071, the board wants two transitions: a difficult transaction-banking franchise portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a succession transition. As the prospective Chief Operating Officer for this transaction-banking franchise, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 071 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Operating Officer role in Banking is based in Mumbai; relocation is expected, although a structured weekly commute may be considered during the first quarter.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of COO, EVP Operations or Business Operations President, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Banking governance forum.
• Proven Chief Operating Officer ownership of at least ₹50,100 crore and leadership of no fewer than 1,000 employees in a comparable transaction-banking franchise context.
• One completed Banking or adjacent-sector example of operating complexity that has outgrown the current governance model with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from financial services, payments, lending, insurance or regulated fintech; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Operating Officer-level transaction-banking franchise consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Mumbai location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 071.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Operating Officer package is ₹3.2–4.6 crore fixed + performance variable and LTI, calibrated to the final transaction-banking franchise scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 071 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Operating Officer appointment in Mumbai, centred on the transaction-banking franchise, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 071.

Confidentiality

The organisation will be identified only after reciprocal interest and a confidentiality undertaking for mandate 071. The market, scale and situation in this brief are intentionally composite and are not a coded description of a named enterprise for mandate 071.