'No one's ever asked me about my degree in 30 yrs': New SBI chief CS Setty says academics is just an entry pass

What gives confidence to the new chairman of the country's largest bank, the State Bank of India (SBI), Challa Sreenivasulu Setty or CS Setty? "The education you acquire in academics is a lifelong asset. It's like swimming; once you learn it, you never forget it. No matter how much you might hate formal education, it will always be useful and build confidence," said Setty to IIT-Bombay students last year.

"Academics are your entry pass. After that, nobody cares," said Setty, who began his career with the country's largest bank in 1988 as a Probationary Officer. Setty will be replacing current chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara, who will retire on August 28.

"I have done a BSc in Agriculture. In the three and a half decades, nobody has ever asked me what I studied or what my rank was," he told the students. "But my academic grades have always given me confidence," said Setty, who has handled the retail and digital banking verticals at the bank. As a science student, he learnt banking when he started working. In fact, the SBI's policy of rotation of jobs helped in cover a variety of businesses. 

In fact, this 27th Chairman of SBI also had a short stint in New York as VP & Head (Syndications). He also has extensive experience in credit, and retail. 

The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) selected Setty's name as the top choice. The other three MDs were Ashwini Kumar Tewari, Alok Kumar Choudhary and Vinay M Tonse. Choudhary retired on June 30th.

FSIB was set up by the Central Government in 2022 to recommend candidates for whole-time directors and non-executive chairpersons on the boards of financial services institutions and to advise on personnel management issues.

Setty joined the SBI board as a Managing Director in January 2020. In January of last year, the government extended Setty's term by two years, effective from January 20, 2023. This extension made him eligible for the chairman post.

"If you really have a vision for what you want to do and how to handle volatility in your life, you need to have a vision. Understanding is the right way to handle uncertainty," said Setty to students. 

Prior to taking over as MD, Setty headed the stressed asset resolution group as Deputy Managing Director, where he was responsible for resolving the stressed assets portfolio, which was concentrated in power, infra, auto, and telecom.

Setty rose through the ranks and has held key assignments, including Chief General Manager and General Manager in the Corporate Accounts Group, Deputy General Manager in the Commercial Branch in Indore, and VP & Head (Syndications) at SBI's New York Branch.