Like a supertanker that takes a long while to change course, it will take SBI a long time to change. But at least there is a realisation that change is needed
It is not usual for Forbes India to be talking about government-owned enterprises. In general, we believe that private enterprise delivers more innovation and creates more wealth than bureaucratically-run state-owned leviathans. But once in a while, when there is reason to do so, we make exceptions. The arrival of a woman CEO at the top of India’s largest bank, State Bank of India, forced us to take a look at the venerable institution. Fifty-seven-year-old Arundhati Bhattacharya became the first woman head of the bank last October, and ran smack into a downward spiral of falling performance: Rising levels of bad loans, poor returns on equity, a depleting top management pool (4,000 officers are retiring every year), a bloated and underproductive workforce, et al.
(This story appears in the 07 March, 2014 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)