While the Centre has taken great pains in recent months to assure people about the health of India?s banking system, it seems to be pretty callous about ensuring that its own banks are functioning effectively. The country?s first commercial bank, which began operations in 1911 ? the Central Bank of India ? has been headless since the beginning of 2009.
The government says the process of appointing the new chairperson and managing director (CMD) would take few more days to complete. ?The file is lying with the appointments committee of Cabinet (ACC). The new CMD will be appointed soon,? minister of sate for finance Pawan Kumar Bansal told FE .
For the time being, bank?s executive director Ramnath Pradeep has been given the additional charge of CMD. H A Daruwalla, the erstwhile CMD, retired on December 31, 2008.
The delay in the appointment of full-time CMD may affect key decisions, like on interest rates. Some of the bank officers expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in the appointment.
?It has been more than 10 days since Daruwalla retired, but no one has been appointed in her place. Look at private counterparts like ICICI Bank, which has put in place the new chief four months before the office becomes vacant,? one of the officers said.
ICICI Bank?s joint managing director and group chief financial officer Chanda Kochhar has been elected as the new managing director and chief executive officer of the bank with effect from May 1 this year. K V Kamath, the present MD and CEO, is retiring on April 30.