Govt clears promotions to fill key PSB vacancies

New Delhi: The finance ministry is set to appoint 17 executive directors (EDs) in state-own-ed banks on a priority basis, while five of the selected total of 22 general managers (GMs) have been put on waiting list. Soon after finance minister Arun Jaitley resumed office, the government cleared the decks for the appointment of the top-level executives.

The list of GMs recommended for promotion was sent to the department of financial services in the ministry by the government panel. A top source in the finance ministry, told Financial Chronicle, “Out of 22 GMs recommended by the panel for the top-level positions, 17 will be assigned for ED posts in different banks, while five have been put on stand-by or waiting list and will be appointed as per the demand of the banks.”

The government’s move came after banks persistently flagged their concerns to the ministry for filling up the required vacancies of top executives in their respective banks.

“We will soon direct them to join in their respective banks after key approvals are done. We are also waiting for the final approval from the PMO,” the source said.

Two GMs have been assigned to work as EDs in the same bank on promotion. Atul Kumar, GM of Syndicate Bank and Sanjay Kumar, GM of United Bank of India have been selected to work as EDs in their parent banks.

As far as the waiting list is concerned, five GMs have been put on standby – AK Khurana of Vijaya Bank, DKPC Garg of Bank of India, Ajay Vyas of Central Bank of India, Usha Ravi of Dena Bank and Vivek Jha of Punjab National Bank.

The finance ministry was informed that banking operations in public sector lenders were being hampered by top-level vacancies as many ED-level posts had been lying vacant for a long time.

“Prior to the final approval from the Prime Minister’s Office or PMO, the names of EDs will be directed to respective banks. If any of the promoted EDs decline(s) to accept the offer due to some reason or the other, the person on the waiting list will be appointed for the same post,” the source said.

In June, the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) had recommended the 22 GMs after interviewing 43 short-listed candidates for ED posts.

According to industry sources, around 20 ED posts are needed at present to be filled for this fiscal because some executive directors will be elevated as managing directors.

Meanwhile, the government is likely to give extension to Bank of Baroda MD and CEO PS Jayakumar based on the assessment of his three-year performance, sources said.

Jayakumar was one of the two officials selected from the private sector and joined the state-owned bank in October 2015. Soon after he assumed charge, BoB made a loss of Rs 3,342 crore in the third quarter (October-December) of 2015-16. In the subsequent quarter too, the lender posted a loss of Rs 3,230.1 crore.