DBS hires ex-Standard Chartered banker to lead India wealth team

DBS has hired Nitin Chengappa, a former Standard Chartered banker, to head its wealth-management business in India as it bets on rising demand for tailored products from the country’s newly rich.

Chengappa joined the lender in July and reports to Ambuj Chandna, who heads DBS’ consumer banking business in India, said people familiar with the matter, who requested not to be identified as the appointment has not been publicly announced.

DBS Bank India confirmed to Bloomberg News that Chengappa had joined the firm as managing director and head of its Treasures business and wealth management. It did not provide further details.

Chengappa spent nearly a decade at Standard Chartered in India, where he last worked as head of affluent distribution and branch network, according to his LinkedIn profile. Previously, he spent more than a decade at HSBC.

Wealth management has emerged as a key growth area in India, with the rise in rich individuals and families prompting the likes of HSBC and domestic firms to expand aggressively in the country.

India is among the world’s fastest-growing wealth markets, with about 917,000 millionaires and just under 200 billionaires, according to UBS.

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DBS has been positive about growth in India and willing to commit capital to the market. It entered India’s buoyant equity capital market this year, marking a push into one of the world’s busiest venues for share sales.

It took over Lakshmi Vilas Bank in 2020, the first time Indian authorities turned to a foreign lender to bail out a struggling local rival.

Chengappa was one of several recent senior executive departures from Standard Chartered’s Indian operations. The exits came as the lender reorganises its wealth business and shifts away from mass-market retail banking. BLOOMBERG