Shri Balachandran M.
Ex-Director IBPS and Ex-CMD of Bank of India
and Nominee of Reserve Bank of India

“Shri M. Balachandran has been a career banker for 37 years. He worked in different capacities within India and abroad for over 33 years in Bank of Baroda, lastly as Chief Executive of Bank’s American operations at New York.

Thereafter he headed Bank of India and superannuated as its Chairman and Managing Director in 2007. Subsequently he headed Institute of Banking Personnel Selection as its Director and retired in June, 2012.

Shri Balachandran has had extensive exposure to Agriculture and SME banking besides Corporate and International segments and Human Resource Management.

During his tenure in BOI the bank improved its profit from Rs 357 cr to 1234 cr and the share price went up from Rs. 87 to Rs. 210, in two years, the highest appreciation amongst all PSBs. The bank completed migration to Core banking  in record time under  a System integrated model and found mention in the international publication "World is Flat" and pioneered  Business Process Reengineering. The bank successfully floated  a  MTN for one billion US $ and went into international foray  by acquiring majority stake in a listed bank in Indonesia (Bank Swadesi) and also  opened branches/ offices in Beijing, Schenzen in China, Antwerp in Belgium  and obtained licenses for  a subsidiary in Tanzania and  South Africa. He is also accredited with conceptualizing and instituting “Abhoy” the first credit counselling initiative among commercial banks.

During  his tenure in IBPS he scaled up  the entity  to become  the country’s  largest  institute of its kind in  financial  sector  and as  an organization for  end to end  solutions in Talent Management by transforming from its erstwhile  role for mass recruitment.  He conceptualized and initiated Common Recruitment Platform for commercial Banks and RRBs in keeping with the changed manpower needs of the sector.

Shri Balachandran was also instrumental in founding the Star Union Dai ichi Life Insurance Co., a joint venture between Bank of India, Union Bank and Dai Ichi life insurance Co of Japan and was its founder Chairman for 3 years.

  • Presently he is RBI's nominee Director on the Board of -National Payments Corporation of India Ltd., and chairs its Management Committee of the Board.
  • Earlier he was a Director for 5 years in Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)

Other Committees in which Shri Balachandran is presently associated are:

  • Chairman, Committee for Review of Depositories System in India (SEBI)
  • Chairman, Expert Group for merger of Urban Co-op. Banks (RBI)
  • Member,   Research and Development Advisory Committee of National Housing Bank (NHB).
  • Trustee – DHAN Foundation: A Federation of SHGs engaged in Micro Finance and Rural Development.

In the past he has been-

  • Chairman of Bank of Baroda (Guyana) Ltd., South America.
  • Chairman of BOI Shareholding Company Ltd. – (a joint venture between BOI & BSE.)
  • Director of ASREC LTD. an asset recovery Company,
  • Director, NABSCON a consulting organization of NABARD.
  • Director, Agriculture Finance Corporation Ltd. (AFC)
  • Director, Indo Zambia Bank Ltd.– (a joint venture of 3 PSBs & Govt. of Zambia), Lusaka.
  • Member -High Power Advisory Committee (Consents & compounding matters)- Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
  • Member, Expert Committee of Staff Selection Commission (GOI)
  • Member, Governing Council of Indian Institute of Banking & Finance
  • Member, Governing council of College of Agricultural Banking (RBI),

He was also associated as a

  • Member of the working group for Agriculture for drafting 10th five year plan in 2006.,(Planning Commission)
  • Member Government of India's High Power Committee for making Mumbai as International Financial Centre in 2006/07.
  • Member, High Power Committee of RBI on Lead Bank Scheme in 2008.

Shri Balachandran has travelled extensively into several countries abroad and has been a speaker at several national and international seminars, and on the jury panel for selection of awardees in banking and technology. Born on 1st May, 1947, he is a Post-graduate in Agricultural Science and had a stint of teaching in Agricultural University (TN) before taking to banking as career in 1970.”