S Janakiraman: Consensus man, credit expert; RBI’s new deputy governor

At the RBI, Janakiraman will likely handle the Department of Supervision and Financial Inclusion and Development Department.

Swaminathan Janakiraman is set to become a Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, succeeding MK Jain.

Typically, one of the four deputy governor posts at the RBI is occupied by a veteran banker, who brings the industry perspective to the thinking process within the central bank. The other three are traditionally insiders, with some exceptions.

Swaminathan, as he is called by colleagues, is known as a low-key official in the State Bank of India’s ranks. One of his former colleagues remembers him as a consensus man, who would seek input from even junior colleagues while making critical decisions.

“He would talk to everyone, but arrive at own decisions,” the person said.

During his multi-decade experience at the country’s largest bank, Janakiraman took up several assignments and was regarded as an expert on credit operations.

Also read: SBI MD Swaminathan Janakiraman appointed as Reserve Bank of India deputy governor

Corporate credit

“He understands credit, especially corporate credit, pretty well,” said the colleague who didn’t want to be identified.

The government appointed Janakiraman as a Deputy Governor of RBI on June 20 for three years. Jain is set to retire on June 21. The other Deputy Governors are Michael Debabrata Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao and T Rabi Sankar.

At the RBI, Janakiraman will likely handle the Department of Supervision and Financial Inclusion and Development Department, among others, which were under Jain’s purview.

Janakiraman completed his high school at Town Higher Secondary School in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, in 1981 and did his bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Madras - Govt. College for Men, Kumbakonam, in 1984.

From 1996 to 2016, he took four professional degrees in banking and economics, risk management, international trade finance and anti-money laundering & compliance functions among others.

Through his years at SBI, he remained mostly involved in retail and corporate banking, trade finance and transaction services, augmenting digital offerings and delivering superior customer experience.

Also read: Govt interviews candidates for RBI deputy governor position

At SBI, Janakiraman started as a manager in Bengaluru looking after retail and corporate banking at various branches from 1988 to 2003. Later, he handled various posts including vice president and head of trade finance in New York and deputy managing director – finance.

In the last two and half years of his tenure, he served as Managing Director of SBI with responsibilities of the corporate banking and subsidiaries vertical.

Janakiraman takes over as deputy governor as the central bank tightens scrutiny of banks in terms of supervision, service standards and audit processes to ringfence the sector from crisis situations. His challenges will include monitoring the customer service standards of banks and ensuring compliance in banking operations.