Pratip Chaudhuri likely to be new SBI chairman

State Bank of India deputy managing director Pratip Chaudhuri is expected to be the next chairman of the country's largest bank. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has cleared his name for the post, according to CNBC-TV18 and other reports.

Chaudhuri is thus the finance ministry's candidate to step into the corner room on the 18th floor of the SBI headquarters that overlooks Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium when the incumbent, Om Prakash Bhatt, retires in March.

The low-profile banker, who in his present assignment is in charge of SBI's international banking business, had earlier been interviewed for the post of managing director; but instead, he is set for a bigger New Year gift.

Mukherjee followed the advice of a selection committee, headed by RBI governor D Subbarao, which had put another deputy managing director, Hemant Contractor, as the second-most preferred candidate. Contractor was also interviewed for the managing director's post, which is vacant.

Till recently, Contractor was in-charge of the large corporate group dealings, and has now been appointed as the chief financial officer of SBI.

Following the finance minister's clearance, the proposal will now be processed by the appointments committee of the cabinet.