Mundra appointed RBI deputy governor

He'll take over as the fourth Deputy Governor of RBI after K C Chakrabarty resigned mid-tenure.

The government has appointed S S Mundra, chairman and managing director of Bank of Baroda (BoB), a deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Mundra (60), who will assume charge on Thursday, has been given a three-year term.

Mundra took charge as chairman and managing director of BoB in January 2013. Prior to his elevation, he was the executive director of Union Bank of India.

One post of RBI deputy governor fell vacant after K C Chakrabarty retired nearly three months before schedule, in the last week of April.

Of the four deputy governors, two are selected from outside RBI, while the other two are from within. Of the two outsiders, one is a commercial banker and the other an economist.  Earlier in July, RBI extended Deputy Governor H R Khan's term by two years.

Born on July 18, 1954, Mundra holds a Masters in Commerce and is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Banking & Finance (CAIIB). He started his career as a probationary officer with Bank of Baroda in 1977 and has more than three decades of experience in the sector.

He has held a wide range of responsibilities in the domestic as well as international operations of the bank.

Mundra has also held key leadership positions such as the zonal head of the Maharashtra & Goa zone. He was also the chief executive of Bank of Baroda’s UK operations for a period of three years.

The central bank is planning to have one more deputy governor; this would need a change in the rules. Till the time this is done, RBI has proposed to appoint an officer on special duty or chief operating officer with the rank of a deputy governor.

In April, the government appointed R Gandhi as deputy governor. Gandhi, 58, who was handed a three-year term, succeeded Anand Sinha who retired in January.