Investment banking: High profile exits continue

Adding to the high-profile exits in the investment banking sector in India, Brijesh Koshal, managing director and head (i-banking), Daiwa Capital Markets India, a subsidiary of Japanese firm Daiwa Securities Co, has put in his papers.

According to sources, Koshal will take a temporary break from investment banking.

Koshal could not be contacted for comments.

Prior to joining Daiwa, Koshal was head of the infrastructure practice at Enam Securities.

As an investment banker, he has also worked with Taib Bank and India Securities Limited.

He was part of Essar Power Limited as vice-president (finance) and also headed banking relationships for Essar Group.

Koshal has about three decades experience in commercial banking, investment banking and corporate finance.

During his stint at Daiwa, he was involved with KEC International's $100-million acquisition of SAE Towers.

Over the past two years, India's i-banking sector has seen a heady churn at the senior level, mainly in the area of mergers and acquisitions.

In 2011, Jaideep Goswami, managing director and head of equities at Daiwa Capital Markets, had quit to join ICICI Securities.

Another Japanese firm, Nomura, also saw the exits of senior bankers in India in 2011.

Nipun Goel, Nomura Holdings' head of India investment banking, and two other senior investment bankers -- Indraneil Borkakoty, head of India equity capital markets business, and senior M&A advisor Shubham Majumder --

had also left Nomura.

In October 2012, Swiss bank UBS AG's head of investment banking for India, Ashok Mittal, had left the bank and ace banker Manisha Girotra had quit UBS to head Moelis & Company's India operations.

More recently, Morgan Stanley's chief operating officer in India, Nina Nagpal, has reportedly left the bank after a 13-year stint.

Senior bankers who changed their high-profile jobs in the recent past include Promit Ghosh, former M&A head, and Raj Kataria, former managing director and head of financial institutions group with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Gosh joined sovereign fund Temasek to head its India operations.

Anshuman Thakur, former director at NM Rothschild, had moved to Morgan Stanley, while Sughosh Moharikar, managing director of investment banking at Credit Suisse India also quit and joined Deutsche Bank.

Ganeshan Murugaiyan, former head of investment banking at UBS India, joined BNP Paribas to head its i-banking division.

Sunil Mehra, managing director in the corporate finance group at Standard Chartered, quit the firm to join MAPE Advisory.

Saurabh Agarwal, former head of investment banking, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, moved to Standard Chartered.