Appointment of executive directors: Banks Board Bureau to hold virtual interviews on September 19, 20

As many as 29 General Managers and Chief General Managers from public sector banks are in the fray to be appointed as Executive Directors in various banks.

The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) will, on September 19 and 20, hold personal interviews through video conferencing, sources in the banking industry said. The total number of vacancies for the posts of EDs are 11.

The Department of Financial Services in the Finance Ministry had, in June this year, asked nationalised banks to furnish the details of bank officers serving on the highest level below the board of the bank in which officer is employed. Details of only those officers who had completed at least two years as geberal managers or/and chief general manager and have three years of residual service as on April 1 need to be furnished, the DFS had then said.

It may be recalled that the Finance Ministry had, in September last year, allowed PSBs with a total business of over ₹10-lakh crore to create Chief General Manager (CGM) posts as per their business needs. This was seen as part of the PSB governance reforms undertaken by the Centre for empowerment of Bank Boards. The CGMs are to act as an administrative and functional layer between the existing levels of General Manager and Executive Director.

BBB had started functioning from April 1, 2016, as an autonomous recommendatory body. The bureau is also engaging with PSBs to help build capacity to attract, retain and nurture talent and technology – the two key differentiators of business competences in the days to come.

BBB had last conducted interviews for the post of Chairman of State Bank of India, the country’s largest commercial bank.

Last year, the government had embarked on a mega consolidation drive among PSBs that saw as many as 10 such banks getting consolidated to four mega PSBs from April 1 this year. As on date, India has 12 state-owned commercial banks. These are Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Indian Bank, UCO Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, and State Bank of India.