Letters: SBI & conflict of interest

Apropos the report "Govt interviews 2 candidates for SBI managing director post" (June 14), the selection of the State Bank of India (SBI) chairman always has a big impact. In this context, it is interesting to note that SBI is revamping its credit approval process to reduce bad loans. If both these exercises are used to learn the lessons of over-optimism in regard to market growth, margins and timeliness of getting necessary approvals, as also the promoters' capability and intentions, then there would be hope for the future. In particular, SBI should look at the role of SBI Caps, who might have been investment bankers for some of the loans that have now turned dicey. Managers in charge at SBI Caps must be evaluated on the outcome of the projects they got the bank to finance and not just on fees earned or league table standing. This is a matter of serious conflict of interest that needs to be addressed.

P Datta Kolkata

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