StanChart hires Bala Swaminathan

The trend of migration of private sector bankers to foreign banks still continues with another Indian banker moved to a foreign bank. This time the Indian banker has been poached from the country's second-largest bank, ICICI Bank.

Bala Swaminathan, who recently resigned from ICICI Bank as country head - corporate banking, is joining Standard Chartered Bank to head its corporate banking division - South Asia. He will begin his career with the UK-based bank from February 1, 2006.

Swaminathan was promoted as the head of corporate banking from a senior general manager after the reverse merger of Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India into ICICI Bank in 2002. He reported to the bank's executive director, Nachiket Mor.

Foreign banks have been poaching from their Indian private sector peers for quite some time now. Standard Chartered Bank recently roped in Neeraj Swaroop from HDFC Bank, the second-largest private sector bank.

From being the country head of retail banking at HDFC Bank, Swaroop is now heading the Indian operations of the Standard Chartered.

A former IDBI Bank executive, Ajay Bimbhet heads Deutsche Bank's retail operations in India. Shameek Bhargava, formerly head - cards at IDBI Bank, is now heading the cards' division of the German 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. Banking sources say that 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 their global wealth management business. Way back in mid-1990s, the trend was just the reverse.

With the emergence of new generation private sector banks, Gunit Chadha, Neeraj Swaroop and HDFC Bank CEO Aditya Puri had 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 served Bank of America before his stint in HDFC Bank. Aditya Puri, prior to his appointment at HDFC Bank, was heading Citibank's Malaysia operations.