Govt extends term of Banks Board Bureau members by two years

The government on Wednesday extended term of board members of the Banks Board Bureau (BBB), the headhunter for top management of state-run banks and financial institutions.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved extension of term of existing part-time chairman and members of the BBB for a period of two years beyond April 11 or until further orders whichever is earlier, the Department of Financial Services said in notification.

As per the circular, former Secretary in the Department of Personal and Training B P Sharma will continue as its part-time chairman.

Other part-time members are Vedika Bhandarkar, former MD of Credit Suisse; P Pradeep Kumar, former MD of SBI; and Pradip P Shah, founder MD of rating agency CRISIL.

Before Sharma, the board was headed by former CAG Vinod Rai till April 2018. He was the first chairman of the board.

The government, in 2016, had approved the constitution of the BBB as a body of eminent professionals and officials to make recommendations for appointment of whole-time directors as well as non-executive chairpersons of public sector banks (PSBs) and state-owned financial institutions.

It was also entrusted with the task of engaging with the board of directors of all PSBs to formulate appropriate strategies for their growth and development.

Besides, it was asked to frame a strategy discussion on consolidation based on the requirement. The government wanted to encourage bank boards to restructure their business strategy and also suggest ways for their consolidation and merger with other banks.