SBI Chief Arundhati Bhattacharya Gets 1-Year Extension 

New Delhi: Arundhati Bhattacharya has secured a year's extension as the Chairperson of the State Bank of India (SBI) to oversee the merger of six smaller commercial banks into the country's largest lender. Bhattacharya's tenure was to end on October 6.

The government last month gave its nod for the merger of six banks -- State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Maharashtra and Bharatiya Mahila Bank -- into the State Bank of India.

The Union Finance Ministry has favored extension of Bhattacharya's tenure as the Centre wants continuity of her leadership as SBI absorbs five associate units and Bhartiya Mahila Bank, while cleaning up its books of bad loans. The government may fix SBI chairman's tenure at five years, up from three now.

In 2015, while selecting private sector candidates for five large public sector banks, the government had offered a fixed, three-year tenure subject to the normal superannuation age of 60 years.

Source: IANS