BBB recommends name of Dinesh Kumar Khara as next chairman of SBI

CS Setty is also serving as MD of State Bank of India.

By Ankur Mishra

The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) has recommended the name of Dinesh Kumar Khara, managing director (MD) of State Bank of India (SBI), as next chairman of the bank. The board has also suggested CS Setty as the candidate on the reserve list for the vacancy. CS Setty is also serving as MD of State Bank of India.

The three-year term of SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar will come to an end on October 7, 2020. However, the possibility of Kumar getting a one-year extension due to ongoing Covid-19 situation cannot be ruled out.

“The final decision on the vacancy will be taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. It can either choose from the Banks Board Bureau’s recommendations or extend the tenure of the current SBI chairman,” the source added.

In 2016, Rajnish Kumar’s predecessor Arundhati Bhattacharya was given an extension for one year, when the largest lender was completing its merger with five associate banks.

The Banks Board Bureau earlier on Friday interviewed four MDs of SBI, Dinesh Kumar Khara, Arijit Basu, CS Setty and Ashwani Bhatia for the post of SBI Chairman. As per the convention in SBI, the chairman is appointed from a pool of serving MDs. Dinesh Kumar Khara will be considered for the chairman position for the second time. In October 2017, when Rajnish Kumar was appointed as SBI Chairman, Khara was one among the other contenders.

The Banks Boards Bureau is headed by BP Sharma, former secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). The Banks Board Bureau is an autonomous body tasked to improve the governance of public sector banks. It recommends selection of chiefs of government owned banks and financial institutions.