Interview for SBI chairman’s post deferred

The much-anticipated interview for the post of chairman at the State Bank of India (SBI) has hit an unexpected snag. Scheduled for Tuesday, the interview has now been postponed, according to two persons aware of the matter.

Late on Monday, SBI, the country's biggest bank, received a notice about the deferral, said one of persons who spoke on condition of anonymity. The new date for the interview will be communicated in due course, the person added.

The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB), an autonomous body under the central government, was scheduled to conduct interviews on Tuesday to recommend a candidate for the chairman's post.

"The scheduled meeting indeed has been postponed due to ongoing elections. The earlier call was to complete the process after elections in Mumbai. But now they want to wait for entire process to get completed and results being declared before finalising the candidate for recommendation to ACC (Appointments Committee of the Cabinet)," said a government official aware of the matter. 

"As a new ACC, which includes prime minister, home minister and finance minister, will be constituted after the formation of the new government and existing chairman is to continue till last week of August, it is considered right to slightly delay the proceedings so that selection or recommendation is made on time with swearing-in of the new ministers," he added.

Read This: At SBI, India's biggest bank, a new chairman to be anointed this week

Incumbent Dinesh Kumar Khara retires on 28 August and the next chairman is supposed to take charge the same day.

The front runners for the post are State Bank of India’s three managing directors—C.S. Setty, Ashwini Kumar Tewari and Vinay M. Tonse. Alok Kumar Choudhary, the fourth managing director, is set to retire end of June.

Headed by Bhanu Pratap Sharma, former secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the FSIB is responsible for appointing senior executives to public sector financial institutions. 

The recommendations go to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, led by the prime minister, for final approval.

The appointment of a new chairman comes at a time when SBI’s financial performance has vastly improved.

More Here | SBI: A balance of performance and valuation

“Khara's main achievement is that he has been able to improve the financial performance of the bank. Since he took charge as chairman, the share price has zoomed from ₹250 levels to ₹820 per share," said a former senior SBI official. “While he may not have been perceived to done anything innovative, Khara did a commendable job in these uncertain times."

The bank posted record net profit of ₹20,698 crore at the end of March 2024. Asset quality is the best in nine years, with net non-performing assets as a percentage of total assets coming in at 0.57% of total assets, compared to 1.23% when Khara took charge. SBI's bad loan portfolio stood at ₹84,276 crore at the end of March 2024.