Foreign banks woo talents from private peers

In the mid 1990s when new private banks started setting up shops here, promoters of these banks had wooed many an executives from foreign banks. Now the wheel has come a full circle and foreign banks are lapping up talent from the private banking industry to fill in their top slots.

The latest catch is Neeraj Swaroop. Standard Chartered Bank roped in Swaroop from the leading private sector HDFC Bank. From being the country head of retail banking there, Swaroop is now the India head of the UK-headquartered StanChart Bank.

Way back in 1994, it was Housing Development Finance Corporation chairman Deepak Parekh who had spotted Aditya Puri to head the new born HDFC Bank. Puri was then heading Citibank's Malaysia operations.

Recently, CEO of erstwhile IDBI Bank Gunit Chadha moved to Deutsche Bank to head its India operations. Chadha, too, was earlier with Citibank and former IDBI Bank chairman MS Verma was instrumental in bringing him to IDBI Bank.

Another former IDBI Bank executive Ajay Bimbhet has been roped to head Deutsche Bank's soon-to-be-launched retail operations in India. Shameek Bhargava is heading the cards division of the German bank. He was formerly head - cards, IDBI Bank.

Like Deutsche's Chadha, Swaroop too is drawing people from HDFC Bank. Anindo Mukherjee has hopped over to Standard Chartered as head - retail credit. If sources are to be believed, quite a few HDFC Bank executives may join Standard Chartered over the next few months.

Citibank too is hunting for talents in the private sector. It has got Ajay Sondhi from Kotak Mahindra Capital Company to head the global wealth management business. It has taken one more senior pro from another merchant banking entity DSP Merrill Lynch. Ravi Kapoor now heads the American bank's Indian capital markets team.

In mid-1990s when the new private sector banks were set up, Gunit Chadha, Neeraj Swaroop and HDFC Bank CEO Aditya Puri were among those who shifted loyalties from foreign banks. Deutsche's Chadha has completed a full circle moving from Citibank to a private sector bank and going back to a foreign bank.

Swaroop too followed the path laid down by Chadha. He was with Bank of America before his stint in HDFC Bank.