Ex-SBI boss may join Piramal’s financial services business

There’s a growing buzz about former SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya’s next move after her cool-off period ended last week. Bhattacharya, 62, is said to be considering a proposal to ally with billionaire Ajay Piramal to steer the latter’s expanding financial services business.

A Piramal Enterprises board meeting later this month is expected to discuss bringing on board Bhattacharya, who retired in October last year after a four-year stint helming SBI, the country’s largest state lender. When contacted, Bhattacharya and Piramal Enterprises declined to comment on the market speculation.

Piramal has quietly built a large financial services unit that is now the biggest division of Piramal Enterprises in terms of capital deployed, which is 58%, and brings in 47% of the revenue. Piramal’s wholesale lending had a loan book of Rs 47,000 crore as of September this year.


According to sources, Piramal has been scouting for top bankers because the RBI is bringing in stricter regulations for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and all these guidelines are being brought on a par with banks in a bid to eliminate regulatory arbitrage.

Though the names of a few senior bankers have been linked to Piramal in recent months, Bhattacharya seems to be the strongest candidate to take up a role with the Mumbaiheadquartered conglomerate.