Challa Sreenivasulu Setty is set to be the next chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) as the Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) today recommended his name for the highest position in the state-run bank.

The FSIB interviewed three managing directors for the post of SBI chairman, including Ashwini Kumar Tewari and Vinay M. Tonse. 

“Keeping in view their performance in the interface, their overall experience and the extant parameters, the bureau recommends Challa Sreenivasulu Setty for the position of chairman in SBI,” FSIB said in its notification. 

SBI’s current chairman, Dinesh Kumar Khara, will end his extended tenure on 28 August 2024. Setty is expected to take charge on the same day Khara retires.

The recommendation of Setty’s name will now go to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, led by the prime minister, for final approval.

Setty, who is currently heading international banking, global markets and technology wings of SBI, is the seniormost among the three MDs who were interviewed for the post. He has spent close to 36 years with the bank, overseeing various critical verticals of the country’s largest bank. He had joined the SBI board as MD in 2020.

Prior to his present role, Setty headed the retail and digital banking vertical of the bank.

Setty has led key assignments in SBI before this, including as deputy MD - Stressed Assets Resolution Group, chief general manager in corporate accounts department, deputy general manager in mid-corporate group and VP & Head (Syndications) in SBI, New York Branch.

A Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers, Setty started his career with SBI in 1988 as a probationary officer. He has rich experience in corporate credit, retail, digital and international banking, and banking in developed markets.

Khara, Setty’s predecessor, was appointed as chairman of SBI on 7 October 2020. In October 2023, his tenure was extended until he attains the age of 63.

Headed by Bhanu Pratap Sharma, former secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the FSIB is an autonomous body responsible for appointing senior executives to public sector financial institutions.

Established in 2022, the bureau has, besides  Sharma as its chairman, the secretaries of the Department of Financial Services and the Department of Public Enterprises serving as its members, along with other expert members.