Five major banks may see change of guard at the top this year

A clutch of big private and state-owned banks will see the terms of their top bosses ending in the second half of this year.

They include the State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank.

SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara’s term is set to end in October this year. Khara took over in October 2020, replacing Rajnish Kumar for a tenure of three years. Before that, Khara was the managing director at SBI.

There have been instances when the tenure of the SBI chairperson has been extended. In 2016, the central government extended the tenure of then chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya for one year.

Also, the term of Bank of Baroda (BOB) chief Sanjiv Chadha will end by June 2023. Chadha’s tenure was set to end in January 2023 but the government extended it by another five months.

The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB), the head hunter for directors of state-owned banks and financial institutions, has recommended the name of Debadatta Chand, executive director of BOB, to take over from Chadha.

Among private-sector banks, HDFC Bank CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan’s tenure will end in October 2023. Jagdishan took charge in October 2020, replacing Adiya Puri, who holds the record as the longest-serving chief of a bank in the country.

The board of the bank, on March 3, had recommended the extension of Jagdishan’s term for another three years to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

This proposal is pending with the RBI.

HDFC Bank’s nearest rival, ICICI Bank, too, will see the term of its CEO, Sandeep Bakshi, coming to an end in October 2023.

Bakshi was the MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance from August 2010 to June 2018. He also headed ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company in April 2002. In this case too, the bank has sought an extension for Bakshi. The approval is pending with the RBI.

Also read: Who will take Uday Kotak’s job?

Kotak Mahindra Bank, too, will see a change of guard this year with Uday Kotak’s term ending in December 2023. In February 2023, the bank had roped in global consulting firm Egon Zehnder to find a new chief. There are market speculations that whole-time directors Shanti Ekambaram and KVS Manian are among the contenders for the top post.