Along with Subir Gokarn’s appointment as the fourth deputy governor, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today reshuffled some of the key portfolios of its deputy governors and executive directors.
The most notable was the formal creation of the Department of Financial Stability Unit (FSU), which will now be looked after by Deputy Governor Shyamala Gopinath.
FSU, which was earlier a part of the monetary policy department, will also get a new executive director, Anand Sinha.
The central bank, in its Annual Policy Statement of April 2009, had proposed the setting up of a Financial Stability Unit, drawing upon inter-disciplinary expertise from supervisory, regulatory, statistics, economics and financial markets departments for carrying out periodic stress tests and for preparing financial stability reports. Accordingly, FSU was constituted on July 17. Following India’s inclusion in the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the FSU will provide the secretariat to the RBI’s representative in the FSB.
Sinha, who was looking after the Department of Banking Operations and Development (DBOD) and Department of Banking Supervision (DBS), has been relieved from DBS which will now report to executive director. The foreign exchange management department, which was with Gopalakrishna, will now come under Executive Director HR Khan. RBI has four deputy governor and seven executive directors.
Gokarn will be taking charge of the all important monetary policy department along with the Department of Economic Analysis and Policy, Department of Statistics and Information Management, Department of Communication and Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation.
RBI Governor D Subbarao was looking after the monetary policy, economic analysis and policy, and the Department of Statistics and Information Management since Rakesh Mohan’s exit in June.
The communications department was earlier under Gopinath, while Usha Thorat was in charge of the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation. Gokarn will also represent the Reserve Bank at the G-20 deputies’ forum.
Gokarn, 50, has been given a term of three years. The appointment of a deputy governor can be for a maximum of 5 years or till the age of 62, whichever is earlier.
