Banking changing rapidly, lenders should have CFOs, CTOs: RBI

Mumbai: With "rapid" changes in banking sector, the RBI today urged banks to appoint qualified chiefs to head the critical finance and technology functions. The central bank also came out with minimum qualifications for the chief financial officers (CFOs) and chief technology officers (CTOs). "Rapid innovations in banking and technology call for better risk governance in the areas of finance and technology," it said in a notification.

"A CFO and CTO in banks' management structure would play a crucial role in strengthening and sustaining the banks’ risk governance framework," it added. It can be noted that while banks have dedicated people handling these two functions, not all the banks have designated CFO or CTOs yet. The RBI said a CTO should be an engineering graduate, or hold a Masters in Computer Applications (MCA) or equivalent qualification with a 15-year experience in banking information technology-related projects.

The notification said the candidate's experience should include work on IT policy and planning, financial networks and applications, financial information systems, cyber security technologies and payment technologies. This experience should involve five years at the senior management level, said the notification which comes amid heightened concerns on cyber security security following the discovery of ransomware 'Wannacry'. For the CFO's post, the RBI recommended qualification as a Chartered Accountant and an experience of 15 years.

The experience should include overseeing financial operations, preferably accounting and taxation matters, in banks or large corporates/state-run enterprises/financial institutions. Ten years of this should be with banks or financial institutions, including five years at a senior management level, it said. The apex bank advised banks to stipulate minimum requirements while inviting applications for the posts of CFO and CTO.