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Forbes Asia has named Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman and Managing Director of State Bank of India, in its annual list of 50 ‘power businesswomen’.
Arundhati Bhattacharya, chief of India’s largest bank, is referred to as “the first lady of Indian banking”, chairing SBI with assets of $300 billion and 225 million customers.
Asia’s 50 Power Businesswomen list showcases a year of accomplishments by the region’s female entrepreneurs and executives. The list includes women CEOs and founders who are active in the upper echelons of the business world in Asia, wield significant power, and have access to robust financial resources.
Forbes Asia said as an “SBI lifer”, Bhattacharya’s has had her hands full addressing bad loans and shoring up the bank’s capital.
In this year’s edition, Forbes Asia has featured six businesswomen from India among its 50 ‘Power Businesswomen’ list.
Apart from Bhattacharya, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, founder of Biocon; Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank; Shika Sharma, Managing Director and CEO of Axis Bank; Akhila Srinivasan, Managing Director of Shriram Life Insurance/ Shriram Capital; and Usha Sangwan, Managing Director of Life Insurance Corporation of India, are among the six Indians in the list.
Forbes described Kochhar, 53, as India's second-most-powerful banker (after Arundhati Bhattacharya) leading ICICI, the country's biggest lender in the private sector, with assets of $100 billion, for six years. "She has overseen a retail expansion into the rural heartland; more than 10 per cent of ICICI's 3,850 branches are in previously unbanked areas. Kochhar is now aiming at capturing younger customers with Pockets, a mobile and online service," the magazine said.
As for Axis Bank head Shikha Sharma, 56, it said she has been credited with giving the bank a retail focus, digitising transactions and expanding the network. "Under her command the bank's total deposits have grown to $46 billion as of December 31. Net profit crossed the $1 billion-mark for the first time in the year ended March 2014," her profile said.
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