Drawing on social exchange theory, the objectives of the study were to examine how succession planning relates to employee performance and assess whether career development and performance appraisal mediate this relationship. Using survey methodology, data were collected from permanent employees at several commercial banks (N = 239; 62% male). Structural equation modeling tested the proposed model. The results suggested that succession planning had a significant, positive relationship with employee performance, and both career development and performance appraisal mediated the relationship. The current study extends the social exchange theory by identifying the relationship between succession planning and employee performance in the context of the banking sector. The study suggests that if bank management builds a pool of skilled employees through succession planning and performance management, it can ameliorate inappropriate appointments in response to sudden vacancies and retirement of employees.