The Centre has started the exercise of filling up the posts for the chairman and managing director of country?s second largest state-owned lender, Punjab National Bank and other such state-run banks, including Bank of India (BoI) and Syndicate Bank.

Also, the government has started the process of promoting serving general managers of various state-owned banks for filling up the posts of executive directors.

Out of the four names that had been shortlisted for the post of CMD of Punjab National Bank, the government has further narrowed down to two names?KR Kamath, CMD of Allahabad Bank and RP Singh (IAS), CMD of Punjab & Sindh Bank, sources said.

TY Prabhu, executive director, Union Bank of India, is likely to join Oriental Bank of Commerce as its CMD in case the current CMD of the bank, Alok

Misra, joins Bank of India as its CMD. Interestingly, Misra is the only person who has been selected to fill up the post of CMD at BoI after the post fell vacant following the retirement of TS Narayanasami in May.

Basant Seth of SIDBI is likely to join Syndicate Bank as its CMD, while SC Kalia, ED of Vijaya Bank may replace Prabhu at Union Bank of India as ED.

On a similar note, out of more than 40 servings general managers who had appeared for an interview for the post of ED, which was held in New Delhi on 8-9 June, eleven of them are reported to have been shortlisted for their promotion to the post of ED. They include SL Bansal (Union Bank of India), MR Nayak (Corporation Bank), AK Dutta (Allahabad Bank), Nupur Mitra (Bank of India), V Kandan (Bank of Maharashtra), D Shankar and Ajay Kumar (Bank of Baroda), NS Srinath (Canara Bank), Rajeev Rishi (Oriental Bank of Commerce) and Rakesh Shetty (Andhra Bank).

The interview panel was headed by Usha Thorat, deputy governor, Reserve Bank of India,

As of now, the number of vacancies for the posts of EDs are only twelve. A senior official in the finance ministry told on the condition of anonymity that the minisry has just begun the formal vigilance enquiry against the eleven GMs. The final approval is yet to come, added the official.