Banking on SBI: Interview with Dipankar Basu

Abstract

Dipankar Basu joined the State Bank of India (SBI) in 1956 and spent his entire professional career with SBI, in India and the UK. He was Chairman of the Bank between 1993 and 1995. Leading the bank’s entry into the investment banking and mutual fund businesses, he was responsible for setting up SBI Capital Markets and SBI Mutual Fund. As Chairman of SBI, Dipankar Basu served on the Boards of several apex financial institutions of India including the Industrial Development Bank of India, Export Import Bank of India, General Insurance Corporation of India and National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development. He was also a member of the Disinvestment Commission set up by the government in 1996. After retiring from SBI, he continues to participate on several Boards and is Chairman of some, including the Boards and Securities Trading Corporation of India. Speaking to Ashok Thampy and Vivek Moorthy, Dipankar Basu shared the milestones in his career-long association with India’s 'first' bank, the challenges of being associated with a growing organisation and how he personally spearheaded many of the initiatives of SBI, and the trends in banking including the movement towards universal banking and the convergence in the financial sector.