NSE Chief Vikram Limaye To Not Seek Second Term

Vikram Limaye will not seek an extension as the chief of the nation’s largest bourse, which is being probed for governance standards during the term of his predecessor.

“I have informed the board that I am not interested in pursuing a second term and will therefore not be applying and participating in the process that is underway,” the managing director and chief executive officer at the National Stock Exchange of India said in a statement. “My tenure ends on July 16, 2022. I have done my best to lead the organisation in a very difficult period and to stabilise, strengthen and transform NSE.”

“We have come a long way in terms of controls, governance, technology, regulatory effectiveness and business growth. I am grateful to all stakeholders, regulators and government for the support extended to me.”

The NSE had recently put out an advertisement for the position of the CEO. This comes at a time the bourse’s former CEOs Chitra Ramkrishna and Ravi Narain were fined by the capital markets regulator last month for alleged governance issues. That stalled its plans for an already-delayed initial public offering.

Limaye took charge in 2017 after Ramkrishna stepped down following a whistleblower complaint to SEBI alleging unfair access to the NSE’s co-location facility. He successfully navigated the bourse through various regulatory penalties linked to co-location—SEBI penalised NSE and asked it to deposit revenue from this segment in a separate escrow account.

The recent SEBI order that barred the NSE from launching any new product for six months, Ramkrishna’s arrest and the alleged involvement of a Himalayan yogi in the bourse’s decision making has caused damage to the exchange’s reputation.

Limaye’s tenure ends on July 16 and the NSE’s board will have to bring in a new CEO by then.