India has decided to extend Arundhati Bhattacharya’s tenure by one year as the chairman of the country’s largest bank, a finance ministry official said, a move that will allow her to oversee completion of the merger with six smaller banks.
After creating history by becoming the first woman to head the nation’s largest lender State Bank of India, Arundhati Bhattacharya earned another first by landing an extension for a year.
Bhattacharya, 60, who was to retire this month, will continue as the chief of the State Bank of India until the consolidation with five of its units and Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd. is completed in the year ending 31 March. Her term will expire in October 2017
Appointed in October 2013 as the bank’s first female chairman and most-senior executive officer, Bhattacharya has taken steps to curtail bad debt and improve profitability at a lender that is 60.2 percent owned by the government. The bank reported a smaller increase in soured debt in the June quarter than investors expected.
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