Chadha on Deutsche Bank's Asia-Pacific executive panel

Indians are going global on the banking space. The Germany-based Deutsche Bank today announced appointment of Gunit Chadha, managing director and CEO India, as a member of the bank's Asia-Pacific executive committee.

Earlier last week, Standard Chartered Bank said it had created a new South Asia region and named Jaspal Bindra, currently global head of client relationships in wholesale banking, to head the new business unit.

Chadha's new status reflects the growing strategic importance of India in the growth plans of global banks.

Kenneth C Borda, Deutsche Bank Asia Pacific chief executive, said: "India is a global priority market for Deutsche Bank and Gunit Chadha has spearheaded our business growth in this important market since he joined the Bank in August 2002.

His appointment to the Asia Pacific executive committee highlights the important role of India in the formulation and execution of Deutsche Bank's overall regional strategy."

Chadha's appointment is with effect from January 1, 2005, while Bindra will take charge of Standard Chartered's South Asia region from March 1, 2005. Before moving to Singapore, Bindra was the CEO of India region for Standard Chartered.

The CEOs of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the South Asia region will report to Bindra, who will in turn report to Kai Nargolwala, Standard Chartered's group executive director.

In India, Deutsche Bank operates with a staff strength of over 500 people at five branches and has consistently seen a significant growth in profits in the last few years.

Deutsche India's pre-tax profit has risen to Rs 494.71 crore in 2003-04 from Rs 323.58 crore in 2002-03 and Rs 260.28 crore in 2001-02.

Deutsche Bank's presence in India spans fixed income and equities markets, corporate finance, trade finance, cash management, domestic custody and trust services, asset management and private wealth management.

Standard Chartered serves both the consumer and wholesale banking customers through a network of 76 branches in 27 cities. It has a customer base of 2.4 million in retail banking and over 800 major corporate accounts.