Lateral hirings at PSU lenders spark debate

RECENT EXITS OF some senior officials from public sector banks (PSBS), hired from the private sector, have sparked a debate in the banking sector about the relevance of lateral hiring from private lenders.

- 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently said PSBs need high-quality professionals, including those from the private sector, to grow business.

Last month, Union Bank of India chief digital officer (CDO) Rajnish Khare resigned after a 15-month stint, despite having a five-year contract. Yusuf Roopawalla, CDO of Bank of India, resigned in January this year.

Contrary to the silent exits of these two officials, the exit of Bank of Baroda (BOB) CDO Akhil Handa in November last year got wide publicity due to the controversies regarding the BoB World app.

"I tried changing things, but it was simply not worth it. I had to quit," says a senior banker who was hired from the private sector by a large PSB.

Roopawalla, who had worked to sources, with Standard Chartered Bank as the chief information officer (CIO) for over 30 years, was appointed chief technology officer (CTO) by Bank of India in July 2023. He left in January 2024.

According Roopawalla wanted to entirely lead digital banking operations of Bol.