N S Vishwanathan assumes charge as new RBI Deputy Governor

Mumbai: N S Vishwanathan on Monday took over as the new Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor who will be entrusted with overseeing banking and financial sector regulations.

Vishwanathan, who was Executive Director with the central bank before his elevation, replaced Harun R Khan, who retired on turning 62.

"The Government of India, on June 29, 2016, appointed him (Vishwanathan) the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India for three years," an RBI release said, adding that he has taken charge.

As Deputy Governor, he will look after Department of Banking Regulation (DBR), Department of Co-operative Banking Regulation (DCBR), Department of Non-Banking Regulation (DNBR), Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), Financial Stability Unit (FSU), Inspection Department, Risk Monitoring Department (RMD) and Secretary's Department.

A career central banker, Vishwanathan, 58, joined RBI in 1981. His areas of expertise include regulation and supervision of banks, non-banking finance companies and cooperative banks, currency management, foreign exchange and human resources management.

He was on a three-year deputation to the Bank of Mauritius, the central bank of Mauritius, as director (supervision). He had also been the head of Chennai regional office of the Reserve Bank.

Vishwanathan was the RBI nominee on the board of directors of three public sector banks at different points in time. He was also the chief vigilance officer and head of internal audit, IFCI.

Born on June 27, 1958, Vishwanathan holds a Master's in Economics from the Bangalore University.

The central bank has four deputy governors - two from within the ranks (the other being R Gandhi) and one commercial banker (S S Mundra) and an economist to head the monetary policy department (Urjit Patel).

The portfolios of Patel and Mundra remained almost unchanged after Vishwanathan's appointment. While Patel will be in-charge of monetary policy and research as before, Gandhi will continue to oversee financial markets and infrastructure. Mundra will be head of supervision and inclusion.