With the five year tenor of present chairman of State Bank of India, Mr OP Bhatt coming to an end in March 2011, the government has begun the search for a suitable successor.

An interview session to select the next head of the largest lender of the country will be held on December 16.

According to a senior official of the bank, four deputy managing directors who have already undergone interview for post of managing director are expected to attend the interview. Amongst them, Hemant Contractor has been assigned the post of Chief Financial Officer of the bank.

Contractor succeeds SS Ranjan to the current post. Apart from him, other eligible candidates for the post of managing director are K Krishnakumar (head of information technology), Diwakar Gupta (incharge of rural and national banking) and P Chaudhuri (who looks after the international banking business).

Apart from SBI, other public sector banks will also see their top slot getting vacant in the near future and the government has begun its hunt to suitably fill them too.