Piramal Finance Limited, a leading retail-focused non-banking financial company, today announced the appointment of Mr. Dinesh Kumar Khara, former Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI), as an Independent Director for a five-year term, effective October 19, 2026.
Mr. Khara brings nearly four decades of banking and financial services experience. Joining SBI as a Probationary Officer in 1984, he held senior roles spanning corporate and international banking, treasury, risk, technology and compliance, and oversaw several of SBI’s non-banking subsidiaries, before serving as Chairman from October 2020 to August 2024. He also played a key role in merging SBI’s five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank with SBI.
As Chairman, Mr. Khara led a significant financial and digital transformation at SBI, strengthening asset quality, expanding advances and scaling digital capabilities, including YONO. SBI’s market capitalisation rose from approximately US$20 billion to US$90 billion, representing a CAGR of ~47%. Over the same period, Return on Equity increased from approximately 7.7% to over 20%, while the net NPA ratio declined from 1.50% in FY21 to 0.57% in FY24.
Mr. Khara’s honours include Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Business Today Best Banks Awards 2025 and Financial Express Best Banks Awards 2024, CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2023 in the Business category, and the BFSI Best CEO award in the BT-PwC India’s Best CEOs ranking 2022. During his chairmanship, SBI was named Company of the Year 2023 by The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence and received Global Finance’s Best Bank Award in 2022 and 2023.
Mr. Khara currently serves as an Operating Advisor to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, advising on investment opportunities, commercial due diligence and portfolio companies, and also as an Independent Director on the boards of several prominent companies.
Mr. Khara holds an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies and a Master of Commerce from the University of Delhi, and is a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance.
Anand Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Finance Limited, said, “I am delighted to welcome Mr. Dinesh Kumar Khara to the Board of Piramal Finance. During his distinguished career, particularly as Chairman of SBI, he strengthened one of India’s most important financial institutions and expanded access to formal banking and credit for millions of Indians, while nearly tripling SBI’s annual net profit to INR 61,077 crore, growing its loan book by over 50% to approximately INR 38 lakh crore and reducing its net NPA ratio by over 60%.
His commitment to responsible, inclusive finance strongly aligns with our purpose. His experience, judgement and deep understanding of financial services will be invaluable as Piramal Finance expands access to formal credit and advances its growth journey. We look forward to his counsel and guidance.”
