NEW DELHI: Post the government’s decision to include private banks in its scout to fill up posts in Public Sector Banks (PSBs), three senior executives of private banks have emerged as the top contenders among those shortlisted.“As directed by the Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, the process of selection is going on. So far, seven candidates have been shortlisted, out of which three are from private sector banks,” a senior official from the Finance Ministry, who is aware of the developments, told TNIE.
While he refused to divulge the names, speculations are rife that HDFC Bank MD Paresh Sukthankar may be one of the contenders. “There are so many speculations, however, at this point of time. It will be improper to take names. The final list will come only after a go-ahead from all the regulators. Things will be clear by the end of August or the first week of September,” the official said, without divulging further details.
Earlier this month, Goyal had said that the government will put on fast track the process of appointing chiefs for several PSBs, posts that have been lying vacant for long. “The Banking Board Bureau has completed the interviews of candidates...We will expedite the process,” Goyal said, adding that the criteria for qualification has been expanded to allow even top officials of private banks to apply for such posts, in a reply to a question in Rajya Sabha this monsoon session.
So far, Banks Board Bureau, headed by former DoPT Secretary B P Sharma, has been entrusted with the task of shortlisting candidates for about 30 top-level vacancies in the PSBs beginning June 13.
When it failed to get suitable candidates, the government expanded the horizon to include even private banks.
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