Despite casting wide net and inviting applications from the private sector, the Banks Board Bureau has recommended three public sector bankers to head Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Bank of India.
For the three banks, the board has recommended SBI Capital Markets managing director & CEO Sanjiv Chadha, Punjab National Bank (PNB) ED L V Prabhakar, and Bank of India ED Atanu Kumar Das, respectively. The bureau has also recommended Bank of Maharashtra managing director A S Rajeev, and Karur Vysya Bank MD P R Seshadri on the reserve list.
The appointments for the CEO positions are overdue. Bank of Baroda (BoB), which is still integrating the operations of erstwhile Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with itself, found itself headless after its CEO PS Jayakumar’s term ended last month without the government granting him an extension or naming successor. Bank of India (BoI) CEO Dinabandhu Mohapatra retired on June 30. Canara Bank CEO RA Sankara Narayan will retire in January 2020.
In its previous term, the NDA government had said that it would make lateral recruitments for public sector banks in a move to professionalise them. For the first time in 2015, the government had appointed two bankers from the private sector – former Citibanker PS Jayakumar at BoB, and private lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank’s head Rakesh Sharma to lead Canara Bank.
Prabhakar was appointed ED of PNB last year. He was earlier with Allahabad Bank for most of his career. Das, who has been a banker for 23 years, joined BoI from Vijaya Bank.
The bureau had invited applications for the CEO position in August from bankers of 15 years experience. “The advisory firm will have no role in short listing. Shortlisted applicants will appear for interactions with the bureau. Based on the interactions, the bureau will send its recommendation to the government,” the bureau said.
Chadha, who is currently at the level of deputy managing director of SBI, was promoted in May this year. He earlier headed the bank’s operation in London and Los Angeles.
