The Swiss bank has made a number of hires, saying that its data points to rising wealth in India, therefore it is a major business opportunity in the medium term.

Credit Suisse has hired a raft of India-focused private bankers, tapping into what it says is an expanding wealth market. 

Ravinder Singh has joined as managing director and strategic client advisor for India onshore. Ravi Malani has been appointed as director and senior product manager, concentrating on growing its private banking equity sales business in India. Brijesh Majali is joining as director and team leader. The team headed by Majali will include three relationship managers and three assistant RMs with whom he has worked at BNP Paribas: Ashish Teli, RM, who has more than 12 years’ experience in wealth management; Gautam Jain, RM, with more than 15 years’ experience in financial services, and Madhurjya Lahkar, RM, with 17 years of banking experience, including 13 years in wealth management.

The Swiss bank said data shows that its increased attention on India is merited. 

A report from the Global Wealth Report by the Credit Suisse Research Institute said that India’s total wealth has increased fourfold since 2000, reaching $12.6 trillion in 2019. India is ranked fifth globally in terms of the number of ultra-high net worth individuals, with 4,460 adults having wealth of over $50 million and 1,790 having more than $100 million. 

Singh has over 24 years of wealth management experience with BNP Paribas, Barclays and HSBC India. Prior to Credit Suisse, Singh was MD and chief executive at BNP Paribas where he led a team of 60 professionals across India and was involved in strategic planning, cross-functional management and business development. 

Malani has 25 years of experience in managing client portfolios, discretionary mandates and equity sales across domestic and foreign institutions. He was previously head of equities at BNP Paribas, where he was responsible for the overall equity book and associated revenues as well as for the formulation and execution of the firm’s India equity strategy.

Majali has more than 18 years of wealth management experience with BNP Paribas and ING Vysya. In his most recent role at BNP Paribas, he was a team leader and senior private banker managing a client coverage team.

Singh and Majali report to Puneet Matta, head of wealth management for India. Malani reports functionally to Carman Tsang, head of private banking equity sales for APAC, and locally to Sandipan Roy, head of products for India.

“India is a key growth market for Credit Suisse and is a market that we know very well. We have been serving clients in India since 2008, providing services that range from financing, debt and capital markets transactions, as well as trading. With a strong wealth management team on board with us, we have now deepened and cemented our unique position in this market, where we can deliver comprehensive solutions to our clients for both their personal wealth and their businesses to leverage the long-term potential in India,” Benjamin Cavalli, head of private banking for South Asia, said.