The great migration: More bankers join well-funded fintechs

Venture capitalists are not the only ones rushing to link up with fintechs. Senior bankers are also trooping in, loosening their neckties to embrace the startup spirit.

The news: Nilufer Mullanfiroze has joined Bengaluru-based wealth-tech unicorn Groww as the head of banking in perhaps one of the most interesting executive movements in recent times. 

She left Kerala-headquartered private lender Federal Bank, where she was the country head for deposits, cards, wealth and insurance.

Slice, another fintech unicorn, has brought in Sandeep Mhatre, who was previously a group executive vice-president at Yes Bank, leading its digital efforts. Slice founder Rajan Bajaj confirmed the move, adding that Mhatre would steer new initiatives in payments and banking. 

Recently, Mumbai-based digital payments firm MSwipe hired Rohit Agrawal as the chief executive of its lending business, MCapital. Before this role, Agrawal spent 15 years at Kotak Mahindra Bank and was the national head for ecommerce and new-age business there.

Why is this significant? Startups have been attracting talent from the top rungs of established companies for some time now. Such shifts have also happened in the specialised area of finance, but not at the frequency we see now. Having bankers in the team can be beneficial for fintechs in multiple ways.