Selection panel names OP Bhatt for SBI top job

A high-level selection committee that was tasked with choosing a new chairman for the State Bank of India has recommended that the current Managing Director OP Bhatt be appointed to the post.

Based on this, the finance ministry has recommended Bhatt's name for the top job to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for approval.

At present, T S Bhattacharya is functioning as chairman of the bank (SBI) after the previous incumbent AK Purwar retired at the end of last month.

If the ACC accepts the recommendation that Bhatt be made chairman of SBI, he is likely to have a clear-cut tenure given that he has well over five years of service left, an official told Business Standard.

A Reserve Bank of India deputy governor, two officials of the finance ministry, a former SBI chairman and a management expert were part of the selection committee for the next SBI chairman.

SBI, the country's largest bank, has an asset base of Rs 4,93,870 crore and a branch network of 9,000. Counting branches of its associate banks, the total number of branches of the SBI group may be over 14,000.