India on global bankers' map

Bankers around the globe are waking up to the India story. They have been talking about India's huge middle class and the English-speaking population here for many years.

But now alive to business opportunities in India, hordes of international bankers are suddenly winging their way to the country.

Early this month, Citigroup International's Chairman and CEO Deryck Maughan was in town.

Next week, Bob Willum Stad, chief operating officer of Citigroup, and Marge Magner, chairman and CEO of Citigroup's global consumer group, are visiting India.

The official reason for their visits is that they are reviewing business. Victor Menezes, senior vice-chairman, Citigroup, is already in the country.

Several senior executives of Deutsche Bank, too, are visiting India. The list includes the head of the bank's global emerging markets division, Ed Peter, managing director and member of group executive committee Juergen Fitschen and CEO, Asia Pacfic, Kenneth C Borda.

Anshu Jain, global head, global markets, and a member of Deutsche Bank's group executive committee, and Frank Nash, managing director and head of global corporate finance, Asia Pacific, will be here soon. Again, to review business.

Standard Chartered Chair- man Bryan K Sanderson was in town in September. In January next year, Mervyn Davies, the group CEO of the bank, will be in India. StanChart's India operations contribute 14-15 per cent to the bank's global profits.

Aman Mehta, HSBC's Asia Pacific CEO, will be here next month.

"India is increasingly gaining importance in world markets and banks are chasing multinational clients here. India can now offer scale of business. The retail market is opening up and is growing around 50 per cent every year. No wonder, it's destination India for most banks," said a senior foreign banker.

The big foreign banks are trying to assess the growth prospects of the country.

"Even though they may not be going in for acquisitions on Indian shores as the rules are not yet clear, they are certainly pushing for business here very aggressively. They need to. Otherwise major private banks can marginalise them," said the CEO of a foreign bank under condition of anonymity.