Breaking Glass Ceiling: Anshula Kant Becomes First Woman To Be Appointed As MD And CFO Of The World Bank

Anshula Kant, managing director of the State Bank of India (SBI), has given us Indians a reason to hold our heads high in pride, as she has been appointed as the Managing Director and chief financial officer (CFO) of the World Bank.

World Bank’s president David Malpass, announced Anshula’s appointment on 12 July. After taking up the responsibility of MD and CFO, Kant will be responsible for financial and risk management of the World Bank Group, reporting to the president.

Pleased to appoint Anshula Kant as the new @WorldBank Group Managing Director & Chief Financial Officer. Anshula brings over 35 yrs of expertise in finance, banking, & innovative use of tech. Look forward to working together to support good dev’t outcomes: https://t.co/8bIbDk9hUx

— David Malpass (@DavidMalpassWBG) July 12, 2019

President’s Official Word

“I am very pleased to appoint Anshula Kant as World Bank Group Managing Director and CFO. Anshula brings more than 35 years of expertise in finance, banking, and innovative use of technology through her work as CFO of the State Bank of India,” Malpass said.

“She’s excelled at a diverse array of leadership challenges including risk, treasury, funding, regulatory compliance and operations. I look forward to welcoming her to our management team as we work to increase our effectiveness in supporting good development outcomes,” Malpass added.

Kant’s workload at SBI

While she held the position of CFO at SBI, Kant used to manage USD 38 billions of revenues and total assets of USD 500 billion. She can be accredited with a remarkable improvement in the SBI’s capital base and emphasised on the long term sustainability of the SBI within her mandate.

A member of the Board and Managing Director since September 2018, Kant has had a pivotal role to play in SBI’s smooth functioning in the past few years.

Kant shone brightly while handling the direct responsibility SBI’s Risk, Compliance, and Stressed Asset Portfolio.

She did a commendable job while working for SBI, creating a number of investment opportunities whilst strengthening risk management throughout the bank. She took up to a number of challenges and confronted them well, while she held different positions across the organisation.

A brief insight into Kant’s career

A graduate in Economic Honours from Lady Shri Ram College, Kant did her post-graduation with the same subject specialisation from Delhi School of Economics. She is also a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers.

Kant was appointed as SBI’s Deputy Managing Director and CFO in May 2015. She has been in this field for 35 years, courtesy which she gained rich experience in retail banking, corporate credit, cross-border trade and banking in developed markets – both retail and wholesale.

Though she joined SBI as a probationary officer in 1983, She went unto work under various departments of the bank, holding critical positions like Chief General Manager (CGM) of Mumbai Circle and CEO at SBI Singapore

As the Managing Director of State Bank of India, she handles stressed assets, risk and compliance functions of the bank.

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