The World Bank Group has appointed Anshula Kant, an Indian national, its next MD and CFO. Ms. Kant will be the first woman CFO of the Bank. “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,” World Bank Group president David 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.”
As Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, Kant will be responsible for financial and risk management of the World Bank Group, reporting to the President.
Among other key management duties, her work will include oversight of financial reporting, risk management, and working closely with the World Bank CEO on mobilization of IDA and other financial resources.
As CFO of the SBI, Kant managed US$38 billion of revenues and total assets of US$500 billion. Stewarding the organization, she greatly improved the capital base and focused on the long-term sustainability of SBI within her mandate. She has been a Managing Director and member of the Board since September 2018, the World Bank said.
With direct responsibility for the SBI’s Risk, Compliance, and Stressed Asset Portfolio, Kant led the creation of investment opportunities while empowering risk management throughout the bank. She held several positions across the organization and helped navigate a diverse array of leadership challenges, the bank said in a statement.
Kant is a graduate in Economic Honours from Lady Shri Ram College for Women and a Post-Graduate in Economics from Delhi School of Economics. She is also a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers.
Kant started her career with SBI way back in 1983 as a Probationary Officer. Across a career spanning three and a half decades, Kant has gained rich experience in retail banking, corporate credit, cross-border trade and banking in developed markets – both retail and wholesale.
Kant has held several key assignments in SBI including Chief General Manager (CGM) of Mumbai Circle (Maharashtra & Goa) and CEO at SBI Singapore where she was responsible for launching the retail operations, making SBI the first Indian bank to do so in that geography.
