After some delay, the government has appointed Asheesh Pandey as managing director and CEO of Union Bank of India and Kalyan Kumar as head of Central Bank of India for a period of three years.

The post of these two positions were vacant for the last few months after A Manimekhalai and M V Rao retired as heads of Union Bank of India and Central Bank of India in June and July, respectively.

The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) had on 30 May recommended Pandey and Kumar for the post of MD and CEO of Union Bank of India and Central Bank of India, respectively.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister has now approved these appointments for an initial period of three years.

Pandey, currently Executive Director of Bank of Maharashtra, has been appointed as MD and CEO of Union Bank of India for a period of three years with effect from date of assumption of charge of the office.

Kumar, Executive Director of Punjab National Bank (PNB), will succeed Rao as MD and CEO of Central Bank of India after his superannuation in July.

FSIB is headed by former Department of Personnel and Training Secretary Bhanu Pratap Sharma.

Other members of the headhunter are Animesh Chauhan, former chairman and MD of erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce, the Reserve Bank's former executive director Deepak Singhal, and Shailendra Bhandari, ex-MD of erstwhile ING Vysya Bank.