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MOSTPOWERFUL WOMEN

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Arundhati Bhattacharya , 

Chairman, State Bank of India
age: 59
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SBI's financials tell the story of her successful tenure, but it is Bhattacharya's drive to push reforms that has strengthened her position at the top. In her short career as the first woman heading one of the oldest commercial banks in the region, Bhattacharya was instrumental in pushing several reforms, including the revision of terms for infrastructure loans. This helped the entire sector see a marked improvement in one of the most stressed loan portfolios. In the two years that Bhattacharya has helmed SBI, the percentage of bad loans has reduced by a quarter. While maintaining the growth of SBI’s loan book, she has institutionalised asset quality maintenance systems to check the growth of bad loans in the long run. Her effort to build SBI as one of the most technologically sound banks in India has been matched by her focus on human resource development.
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