Flurry Of Senior-Level Promotions At Sbi Beefs Up Middle

The State Bank of India, in a bid to create a strong middle-level management, has promoted two chief general managers to deputy managing directors, and 17 general managers to chief general managers. The SBI board of directors, at its meeting in Mumbai yesterday, cleared the promotions.

Meanwhile, the finance ministry yesterday cleared the promotion of State Bank of India deputy managing directors O P Setia and M P Radhakrishnan as managing directors.Earlier, offices of some CGMs and the two deputy managing directors were vacant for some months. With the new promotions, the bank has a strong third- and fourth-tier management. However, the board has not filled in the vacancy, which will be created upon the GMs taking over their new office. New promotion orders, which were long overdue, have revitalised the sagging morale of the senior officer cadre, said a senior SBI official.

 

S R Iyer, chief general manager of the Mumbai circle, and V K Mehrotra, chief general manager of the Hyderabad circle, were appointed deputy manager directors yesterday. However, the board has yet not decided the portfolio for the newly appointed deputy MDs.

Besides, the board has promoted general manager Niayatullah as chief general manager and also deputed him as managing director of SBI Funds Management for the next two years. Of the 17 general managers promoted as chief general managers yesterday, 12 general managers were promoted in Indian branches and the remaining are the officials from overseas branches. The promotions leave the posts of 17 general managers vacant.Setia has been appointed as MD, overseeing, group executive for national banking, and Radhakrishnan as MD, group executive for corporate banking.

The bank received the formal clearance from the finance ministry that both the deputy MDs have been promoted to the deputy MD level late afternoon, said senior officials of SBI. The term of Setia as MD will end on October 31, 1998, and of Radhakrishnan on June 31, 1999. Radhakrishnan was earlier heading SBI subsidiary, SBI Funds Management, while Setia was in charge of SBIs associate banks. After M S Verma and M G Bhide took charge as the chairman of SBI and Bank of India respectively, Setia and Radhakrishnan had been officiating as MDs.