SBI chairman gets one-year extension

Arundhati Bhattacharya gets one-year extension amid consolidation with associate banks

The government on Saturday granted one year extension to Arundhati Bhattacharya as chairman of State Bank of India (SBI), a first in the history of the country’s biggest lender. At a time when SBI’s consolidation with its associate banks is underway, continuity in leadership is likely to help in smooth transition.

“Her current three-year term was to end on October 6, 2016. Now, she will serve till October 6, 2017,” a senior SBI executive said. The speculation over extension of Bhattacharya’s term was making rounds for several months.

Senior SBI executives said managing the challenging task of integrating five associate banks in the current financial year and stabilising asset quality were key factors behind opting for continuity in leadership. The government had also received views of the Banks Board Bureau on the extension.

The bank had sought government nod for consolidation of associate banks with itself. State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Hyderabad and State Bank of Patiala, and Bharatiya Mahila Bank are to merge with SBI in FY17. The merged entity will become a banking behemoth. With an asset base of Rs 37 lakh crore ($555 billion), 22,500 branches and over 500 million customers, it could compete with some of the biggest banks in the world. Currently, SBI has about 16,500 branches, including 191 foreign offices across 36 countries.

Bhattacharya joined the bank in September 1977 as a probationary officer at the age of 22. She has held several positions during her 36-year career with the bank, including working in foreign exchange, treasury, retail operations, human resources and investment banking.

Some of the key positions held by her were chief executive of SBI’s merchant banking arm — SBI Capital Markets; chief general manager in charge of new projects and her tenure at the bank’s New York office.

She has been involved in the launch of several new businesses such as SBI General Insurance, SBI Custodial Services and the SBI Macquarie Infrastructure Fund. With clear signs of digital technology driving banking, Bhattacharya has pushed to design products for tech-savvy generation.

Given adverse impact of bulging bad loans portfolio, she has been prompt and persistent in recoveries from recalcitrant borrowers and initiated action against wilful defaulter like Vijay Mallya.

A top woman executive with a leading private financial entity said as SBI chairman, Bhattacharya speaks with clarity and is “no-nonsense’ person, a quality that would be useful in handling complex tasks like merger and follow-up with hardened defaulters.

Bhattacharya has been ranked as Asia’s second most powerful businesswomen by Forbes in 2016.