BENGALURU, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Shares of RBL Bank Ltd (RATB.NS) dived nearly 25% on Monday after the company's top boss went on medical leave and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) named an additional director to RBL's board over the weekend.

RBL said on Saturday the central bank appointed Yogesh Dayal , chief general manager at RBI, as an additional director for two years.

RBL's board accepted a request from Vishwavir Ahuja, managing director and chief executive officer, to proceed on medical leave with immediate effect, the company said on Saturday.

The bank named Rajeev Ahuja as interim managing director and CEO. In a press call on Sunday evening, Rajeev attempted to allay concerns about the management changes and said the bank's business fundamentals were intact with scope for "tremendous improvement". read more

RBL's shares fell as much as 24.7% to 130.20 rupees on Monday, lowest since June 2020.

In the past the country's central bank has named its officials on boards of banks where there might have been poor financials or governance concerns. However, RBL reiterated that business was as usual and it did not have any near term capital needs.

Given the circumstances under which RBI initiated such an action in the past, there will be clarity required not only on management succession, but fundamental performance and strategy of the bank, analysts at ICICI Securities said.

The brokerage downgraded RBL's stock to "sell" and cut its price target to 130 rupees from 181 rupees.

In order to comfort investors, more explanation will be required from management to justify the sudden exit of Vishwavir Ahuja nearly six months before his term ends, Emkay Global Financial Services said.

RBL's shares were on track for their worst session ever, with about 42.5 million shares changing hands by 0455 GMT compared with its 30-day average of 6.9 million shares.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.