RBI creates CFO post, invites applications

CFO, who will have executive director rank, to be responsible for RBI's financial information

In a first, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is creating a post of a chief financial officer (CFO) and has sought applications for the position.

The CFO, who will be of the rank of executive director, will be responsible for accurate and timely presentation and reporting of financial information of the central bank, and establish accounting policies and procedures and ensure compliance with regulations.

The official will also be entrusted with communicating RBI's expected and actual financial performance and overseeing its budget processes, the central bank said in a recruitment notification on Monday.

The CFO will also formulate the accounting policy of the bank, maintain the internal accounts and report financial results, and carry out corporate strategy functions like PF policies.

Till now, the central bank did not have a dedicated official handling the finance function, and the tasks were being carried out internally. The appointment is part a major organisational change being carried out by Governor Urjit Patel.

His predecessor Raghuram Rajan had pursued an idea of creating a chief operating officer for the apex bank but the government shot down the proposal as it involved changing the RBI Act. Rajan had also hired a slew of specialists from outside.

The CFO can opt for regular appointment or a contract, and will not be eligible for any career progression within the bank, the circular said.

The RBI said it is looking for a chartered accountant aged between 45 and 55 years, who has a minimum of 15 years of experience overseeing financial operations in banks or financial sector organisations.

It said staffers of the rank of general managers and above can also apply for the post.

For regular appointment, the gross monthly emoluments will be around Rs 2.40 lakh, while for appointment on contract basis, cost per month will be Rs 2 lakh with housing and Rs 4 lakh per month without housing. The proposed salary (for a regular appointee) of the CFO is just Rs 10,000 short of the revised pay of the Governor and on par with that of the deputy governors.

The RBI follows a July-June accounting year and transfers its surplus to the government at the end of every financial year (FY). In FY16 it had transferred over Rs 65,000 crore to the Centre.