SBI, LIC among key govt-run financial institutions set to see new faces

Major state-run financial-sector players like the country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), and the largest life insurer, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), are likely to see a change of the guard at the top in 2023.

The first quarter of calendar 2023 will see new faces heading four large public-sector banks — Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, and Bank of India.

SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara’s term ends in early October. Khara had assumed charge as chairman in October 2020 with a three-year term. Before moving to the corner office, he was managing director (MD) with SBI.

Among the current team of four MDs, C S Setty, the senior-most, is seen as a contender to replace Khara. There have been instances when an SBI chairperson’s term was extended even after the person turned 60.

L V Prabhakar, MD and chief executive officer (CEO) of Canara Bank, will demit office on December 31, 2022. The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB), the headhunting entity for directors of state-owned banks and financial institutions, has recommended K Satyanarayana Raju, executive director, for the position of MD and CEO.

Partha Pratim Sengupta, MD and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank, retires on December 31, 2022. Sanjiv Chadha, MD and CEO, Bank of Baroda, will end his innings in January next year. Chadha was appointed MD and CEO on January 20, 2020, for a three-year term. Earlier he was working as MD and CEO of SBI Capital Markets, the merchant and investment banking arm of SBI.

The FSIB started the process of finding his successor in early December. Chadha will turn 60 in June next year.

Bank of India, another Mumbai-based lender, will see A K Das demitting office of MD and CEO on January 20, 2023, on completing a three-year term. Before becoming CEO, he was executive director with the same bank. The FSIB began search for his successor in November. Like Chadha, Das will turn 60 in June.

LIC Chairman MR Kumar’s current term ends in March, 2023. Kumar who was appointed in 2019, received an extension this year ahead of the initial public offering of the insurance behemoth.

Along with Kumar, MD Raj Kumar, who got a year’s extension, is set to retire in 2023. Another LIC MD, B C Patnaik’s term ends on March 31. UCO Bank MD and CEO Soma Sankara Prasad will turn 60 in May 2023.