The government has initiated the process of filling up upcoming vacancies in the top management of large public sector banks (PSBs), unlike last year when several top banks remained headless for months.

The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) has invited applications for the post of managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) in four leading public sector banks—Bank of India (BoI), Bank of Baroda (BoB), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Canara Bank.

In a newspaper advertisement on Tuesday, the bureau said the applicant should be 45-57 years old and should have a minimum experience of 15 years in mainstream banking, of which at least one year should be at the board level.

While the positions in BoB, Canara Bank and PNB will fall vacant within the next couple of months, BoI has been headless since 1 July, after Dinabandhu Mohapatra retired as CEO.

P.S. Jayakumar, MD and CEO of BoB, is set to retire in October, as his one-year extension ends. The government had extended Jayakumar’s tenure due to the bank’s merger with two smaller state-run banks—Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank.

On the other hand, R.A. Sankara Narayanan, who was appointed Canara Bank chief, will retire in January 2020. PNB CEO Sunil Mehta will retire by the end of September.

Interestingly, the bureau published two side-by-side notices in a business newspaper seeking applications. According to the first advertisement, which seeks applications for BoB, BoI, Canara Bank and PNB, the last date for application is 23 September. The second advertisement, also for PNB and BoI, specifies 16 September as the last date for submitting applications.

The applicants, who meet the eligibility criteria, will first be shortlisted before being assessed for “leadership competencies", and may be assisted by an advisory firm, the BBB website shows.

“The advisory firm will have no role in shortlisting. Shortlisted applicants will appear for interactions with the bureau. Based on the interactions, the bureau will send its recommendation to the government," it added. #casansaar (Souce - BBI, LiveMint)