SBI's brand ambassador

Photograph of the chairman brings in an aspirational value, says senior official

State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday put out a big advertisement in newspapers seeking probationary officers for the bank. Half the advertisement has a smiling picture of the bank’s chairman, Arundhati Bhattacharya, who herself was part of the 1977 batch of probationary officers. SBI plans to recruit 2,200 probationary officers. “Are you next?” the ad says, as it offers to create “leaders of tomorrow”. Listing the reasons why one should join the bank, the ad says the topmost emolument could be “overseas exposure”. SBI has 196 foreign offices in 36 countries, which can offer global positions through “overseas postings even at an early career stage”. According to a senior official of the bank, the photograph of the chairman brings in an aspirational value and will help attract bright, young applicants.