The government is considering appointing Soma Sankara Prasad, the deputy managing director of State Bank of India, as managing director of Calcutta-based Uco Bank.

The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) has suggested the name of Uco Bank managing director Atul Kumar Goel for heading Punjab National Bank as MD.

The managing director position of PNB will fall vacant after the superannuation of S.S. Mallikarjuna Rao in January.

According to sources, since Prasad was in the reserve list when the interview for the appointment for the managing director of Indian Bank took place earlier this year, he has been recommended to head Uco Bank subject to various clearances including vigilance.

The final view in this regard would be taken by the appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) headed by the Prime Minister, sources said.

The BBB, the headhunter for state-owned banks and financial institutions, in May had conducted interviews for the position of MD of Indian Bank.

Post interview, Shanti Lal Jain was recommended for the post while Prasad was the candidate on the reserve list.

Last month, the RBI removed Uco from its prompt corrective action framework following improvement on various counts.