Financial Services Institutions Bureau recommended Setty’s appointment as the next Chairman of SBI.

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Banking is in Challa Sreenivasulu Setty’s DNA, considering that he spent school vacations collecting debt owed to his father’s grocery store in rural Andhra Pradesh.

From collecting small sums in the hinterland during childhood to ensuring that State Bank of India, the nation’s largest bank, recovers hundreds of thousands of crores from debtors, 59-year old Setty has come a long way in his 36-year career as a banker.

Last week, the Financial Services Institutions Bureau recommended his appointment as the next Chairman of SBI. Current Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara’s tenure ends on August 28, 2024.

Colleagues at SBI say he is a quintessential all-rounder, having handled almost all key functions — corporate accounts group, retail, stressed assets resolution group, digital, international banking, syndication desk at New York branch, and global markets – in the Bank.

“Setty is good at building and maintaining relationships with customers and colleagues. He is down to earth. I had seen him walk into the treasury dealing room and chat with dealers, who were 5-6 rungs junior to him,” said a senior SBI official, adding he is mindful of customer requirements even as he has the bank’s interests uppermost in his mind while taking up credit proposals.

Regulatory compliance

Emphasising that he is highly systems and process driven, Bank officials opine he will place lot of emphasis on regulatory compliance. Further, given his rich and diverse experience in SBI, he will ensure that a tight rein is kept on slippages and will brook no dilution in credit underwriting standards.

With SBI reporting an all-time high net profit of ₹61,077 crore in FY24 (against ₹50,232 crore in FY23) amid consistent credit growth, robust asset quality, and strong capital adequacy, all eyes will be on Setty to see if he is able to up the Bank’s game and take the net profit beyond the magic figure of ₹1 lakh crore during his tenure even as HDFC Bank, the country’s second largest lender, is trying its best to close the gap between the two.