H N Sinor resigns from Bank Board Bureau

In a surprise move, veteran banker H N Sinor has quit as member of Bank Board Bureau which was constituted last year by the Prime Minister to advise the government on top-level appointments in state-owned lenders.
According to sources, the resignation comes within days of sudden changes in the top management of two large public sector banks -- Punjab National Bank and Bank of India.
They said Sinor, former Joint Managing Director of ICICI Bank, was not happy as BBB was completely bypassed when the heads of the two banks were shifted to smaller banks.
Sinor has put in his papers, a senior finance ministry official confirmed without sharing content of his resignation letter.

BBB, which was set up in April 2016, was originally tasked to recommend names for chiefs of public sector banks and financial institutions and help state-owned lenders in developing strategies and capital raising plans.
Headed by former CAG Vinod Rai, BBB was authorised to suggest to banks to develop a robust leadership succession plan through appropriate HR processes, including performance management systems.

After exit of Sinor, Anil K Khandelwal, former CMD at Bank of Baroda and Rupa Kudwa, former MD & CEO at Crisil are the only two members left at BBB.
Its role was further enhanced in October 2016 when it was entrusted with the task of advising the government on extension of tenure or termination of services of the board of directors in state-run banks and financial institutions.

Last week, PNB Managing Director Usha Ananthasubramanian was shifted to Kolkata-based Allahabad Bank while head of Bank of India (BoI) Melwyn Rego was moved to Syndicate Bank.
The changes were made in these two public sector banks after a similar rejig at IDBI Bank because of non-performing assets (NPAs).