The Securities and Exchange Board of India (India) announced on Wednesday that Ashwani Bhatia – former managing director at the State Bank of India (SBI) – had taken charge as a whole-time member (WTM) on Tuesday. For the last seven months, the regulator had operated with only two whole-time members, S K Mohanty and Anant Barua.

The tenure of Madhabi Puri Buch and G. Mahalingam as WTMs ended last year. As a result, positions for two whole-time members were vacant at Sebi. Madhabi Puri Buch was appointed as the chief of Sebi in February this year. However, the government is yet to appoint a fourth member.

Bhatia in his role as the WTM will handle the Department of Debt and Hybrid Securities (DDHS), Alternative Investment Fund and Foreign Portfolio Investors Department (AFD), Market Intermediaries Regulation and Supervision Department (MIRSD), Corporation Finance Investigation Department (CFID) and Office of Investor Assistance & Education (OIAE), Sebi said in a statement on Wednesday.

Bhatia was appointed as the Sebi member by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) in March this year for an initial period of three years from his date of assumption. The veteran banker’s term at SBI ended on May 31. Bhatia, before his elevation as MD of SBI, was the chief executive officer and MD at SBI Funds Management.

Bhatia joined the group of the country’s largest public lender SBI in 1985 as a probationary officer. Joining the regulator as a WTM, he brings along a wide experience in Treasury Operations, Retail Banking, Credit, Investment Banking and Asset Management. In academics, Bhatia completed his schooling at Air Force School in Delhi and graduated in Physics and Mathematics from Agra. Further, he is also an MBA from Podar Institute of Management, Jaipur.