RBI deputy governor S.S. Mundra said banks cannot be driverless cars. Speaking at the third banking and economic conclave organized by State Bank of India, Mundra reminded the audience about a possible leadership vacuum at major public sector banks on account of retirements of senior functionaries and said there can be driverless cars but we cannot talk about a leaderless bank. Mundra said of the 20 public sector bank chiefs, eight of them will retire in 2017, 10 in 2018 and there would be only one who would be retiring beyond the next two years. As regards the second rung of leadership, five are retiring in 2016, seven in 2017, 10 in 2018, 12 in 2019 and the remaining three will retire in 2020, he said. Banks, will therefore need to redraw their organizational profile and create HR systems and processes best suited to the needs of the future, he added. He also felt the tenure of the CEOs of public sector banks should at least be five years if the person has to meet the government-defined milestones.
The conclave saw four panel discussions – on ‘Demographic Dividend: Opportunity or Myth’, ‘Rural Productivity: Raising the Human Development Index’, ‘Digital Disruptions and Transformations in Banking’ and ‘Different Paradigms of Macro-policies – the Relevance for Developing Countries’. A banking expert from Israel also gave a special address on the topic, ‘Making the Dessert Bloom’,
