Top-level talent crunch hits IDBI Bank

One Dy MD, three EDs to exit in 40 days; Another post of Dy MD vacant since Oct 2015, after M Rego moved to Bank of India as MD & CEO

A talent crunch seems to be getting acute at the top level in public-sector lender, IDBI Bank, as a deputy managing director (MD) and three executive directors (EDs) are ending their stints in the next 40 days.

B K Batra, deputy MD, will be retiring at the end of July. Another post of deputy MD has been vacant for eight months, after M Rego had moved to Bank of India as MD and chief executive in October 2015. A senior executive of the bank, said the process of selecting a deputy MD is still at the preliminary stage and there was no clarity on the timing of the appointment.

Perhaps one of the existing EDs would get into the position. G M Yadwadkar, P Sitaram and K P Nair, are among those seen to be in the fray. They are slated to appear for interviews for the positions of EDs (a board-level position) in public-sector banks.  The post is equivalent to the deputy MD’s post at IDBI Bank.

The Mumbai-based lender has been in focus due to the government’s statement that it had the option of diluting its shareholding below 50 per cent in the bank. Some global financial investors, including International Finance Corporation, are said to be interested in picking up a stake.

RESOURCE SHORTAGE

• A deputy managing director and three executive directors are ending their stints in next 40 days
   
• B K Batra, deputy MD, will hang up his boots at the end of July
   
• A senior executive of the bank said the process of selecting a deputy MD is still at the preliminary stage
   
• G M Yadwadkar, P Sitaram and K P Nair are seen to be in the fray for the post of deputy MD
   
• In FY2015-16, the bank's net loss was Rs 3,665 crore as against a net profit of Rs 873 crore in 2014-15
  

 

N S Venkatesh, ED and CFO, has put in his papers and is serving his notice period till the end of this month

In financial year 2015-16, the bank’s net loss was Rs 3,665 crore as against a net profit of Rs 873 crore in 2014-15. N S Venkatesh, ED and chief financial officer (CFO), has already put in his papers and is serving his notice period till the end of this month. He is moving to Chennai to join Lakshmi Vilas Bank as ED from next month.

Viney Kumar, another ED, currently looking after corporate debt restructuring and legal affairs, will retire at the end of this month. S K V Srinivasan, ED, looking after the retail, priority sector and financial inclusion portfolio, will also be retiring next month. The public sector lender, in its annual report for 2015-16, said as a strategy towards succession planning, the bank has identified critical positions in senior management to maintain organisational performance and achieve long-term business goals.

In this direction, officers at the junior and middle-management levels have been identified as potential successors, it said.

Through exercises at assessment development centres, the fitments of these officers into the succession matrix and development initiatives (workshops and on-the-job projects) to hone critical competencies are in progress.

In March 2016, the bank unveiled a three-year plan to double its business to Rs 10 lakh crore by March 2019. IDBI Bank had estimated it would need more than Rs 30,000 crore in capital to back its loan book of Rs 550,000 crore by March 2019. The estimated business — deposits plus advances — is expected to touch Rs 10 lakh crore by March 2019.