State Bank of India is likely to get its first woman boss after current chairman Pratip Chaudhuri retires on Monday. According to media reports, Arundhati Bhattacharya, currently the managing director of SBI, has been shortlisted for the top post at the country’s biggest lender.
Interviews for the post were reportedly held last week by a selection committee that included Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan and financial services secretary Rajiv Takru.
The committee interviewed Ms Bhattacharya and another managing director — S Viswanathan — for the top job at SBI. Sources told NDTV that Ms Bhattacharya’s name has been finalised and will be made public once the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gives a nod. The Prime Minister is expected to return from the US on Tuesday.
As per the norms, candidates are eligible for the post of SBI chairman only if they have at least two years of service left before retirement.
Ms Bhattacharya became the first woman managing director of SBI in August. Prior to this appointment, Ms Bhattacharya was managing director and chief executive of SBI Capital Markets, the merchant banking arm of SBI.
