Challa Sreenivasulu Setty assumes charge as new State Bank of India Chairman

New SBI Chairman: Challa Sreenivasulu Setty has assumed the charge as the new Chairman of the State Bank of India, according to a disclosure report filed by the bank on the Bombay Stock Exchange. 

Setty was among one of the Managing Directors of the bank and looked after International Banking, Global Markets and Technology verticals before taking over Dinesh Kumar Khara as the 27th Chairman of the country’s biggest state-owned lender.

As of 2024, Setty had served over 35 years at various levels in the State Bank of India. Setty has played a pivotal role in expanding SBI's global footprint, forging strategic alliances with foreign banks and institutions. Under his leadership, the bank implemented innovative digital solutions, improving customer experience and operational efficiency.

Setty’s work came into focus during his tenure as Deputy Managing Director of Stressed Assets Resolution Group (SARG) where he worked to reduce the bad loans for the bank under Rajnish Kumar. Under his leadership, SBI’s bad loans declined from Rs 2,23,427 lakh crore to Rs 1,49,092 lakh crore during the period. 

Coming from the Pothulapadu village in Telangana, Setty has seen the firsthand struggle of businesses facing financial crunches and not being able to get credit easily. Reports suggest that Setty is going to have a special focus on MSME as he had been a major enabler for the category during his tenure in the State Bank of India.  Setty joined SBI in 1988 after completing his bachelor’s in agriculture.