Equitas Small Finance Bank on Tuesday appointed whole-time director Balaji Nuthalapadi as interim chief executive officer, days after long-serving CEO P N Vasudevan stepped down over conflict-of-interest concerns. Nuthalapadi’s appointment is subject to approval from the Reserve Bank of India and will take effect from the date the approval is received. The lender said it has started the search for a permanent CEO and will submit its recommendation to the central bank.

Equitas announced Vasudevan’s resignation last Thursday, citing a conflict of interest arising from his daughter running a non-banking finance company. The news sent the bank’s shares down as much as 20% that day. Small finance banks are lenders that offer basic banking and credit services to underserved segments of the population.