The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked State Bank of India (SBI) to
appoint a qualified chartered accountant (CA), with relevant experience,
as its chief financial officer (CFO). At present, SBI does not have a
CA in its top ranks — deputy managing director (DMD) or chief general
manager.
A senior SBI executive said due to the central bank's directive, the
bank has decided to opt for an
external candidate and expects to
complete the process by the second quarter of this financial year.
Prashant Kumar, a former DMD, was full-time CFO till he moved to YES
Bank as MD and CEO.
The CA must have minimum 15 years of post-qualification work experience
in overseeing financial operations — preferably accounting and taxation
matters, of which 10 years should be in
banks or financial institutions, with five years at the senior management level.
The CFO will be appointed on a three-year contract, with annual
compensation between Rs 75 lakh and Rs 1 crore, which is much more than
even the bank's chairman.
While the compensation may be less than that of large private banks, it
"carries high visibility and provides rich experience", said an SBI
executive.
Meanwhile, the lender announced that it would conduct a virtual meeting
of shareholders on June 17, for the election of four directors to its
central board.
According to the Securities and Exchange Board of India, annual general
meetings can be conducted virtually. The bank proposes to conduct the
election via e-voting, SBI said in statement.
Shareholders will be allowed to cast digital votes, based on the provisions of the SBI Act and SBI General Regulations, 1955.