SBI gets first woman boss, Arundhati Bhattacharya appointed chief

The country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday got its first woman boss in its 207-year history, as Arundhati Bhattacharya took charge, after former boss Pratip Chaudhuri's tenure came to an end on September 30.

Ms Bhattacharya, also holds the distinction of becoming the first woman managing director of SBI in August. Prior to this appointment, Ms Bhattacharya was managing director and chief executive of SBI Capital Markets, the merchant banking arm of SBI.

(Read: Who is Arundhati Bhattacharya?)

57-year old Ms Bhattacharya joined SBI as a probationary officer in 1977 and has had stints in areas such as retail, treasury and corporate finance during her 36-year career.

Interviews for the post were reportedly conducted by a selection committee that included Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan and financial services secretary Rajiv Takru.

The committee interviewed Ms Bhattacharya and another managing director -- S Viswanathan -- for the top job at SBI.

As per the norms, candidates are eligible for the post of SBI chairperson only if they have at least two years of service left before retirement.

Ms Bhattacharya has held various positions including Deputy Managing Director and Corporate Development Officer, Chief General Manager of the Bangalore circle and new businesses and head of its merchant banking arm, SBI Caps, according to a companystatement said.

MsBhattacharya also played an important role in setting up general insurance, custody services and SBI Macquarie Infrastructure Fund subsidiaries, the statement added.

She also had a stint at the bank's New York office as the head of external audit and correspondent relations, SBI said.

(With inputs from PTI)