8
Mumbai: After a nine-year stint as the CEO of Citi in India, Pramit Jhaveri is set to become the vice-chairman of the Wall Street bank’s banking, capital markets and advisory business across Asia Pacific.
Jhaveri, who will continue to be based in India, will be reporting to Jan Metzger, who became Citi’s Asia Pacific head of corporate and investment banking (CIB) a year ago, and Francisco Aristeguieta CEO of Citigroup Asia.
Even though there was no formal announcement till presstime on Thursday, a Citi spokesperson confirmed the development.
The news broken internally early on Thursday, came as a surprise to most of his colleagues even though speculation of a CEO change was gathering momentum for some months now.
He will remain in his current role till this month end and as the interim till March 31, 2019.
Jhaveri, who comes from a family of jewellers, has been among the top rainmakers for India Inc, advising them in headline grabbing MAs or fund-raising initiatives.
He took over the top job in March 2010 from Mark Robinson after Citi went through its tumultuous phase post the global financial crisis in 2008, but managed to turn around the franchise as one of the most successful global banks in the country.
Citi India's balance sheet is considered amongst the best performing in the Indian banking industry, with a net NPA level of 0.55 per cent as of March 31, 2018.
Under Jhaveri, the PAT of the bank in India jumped to Rs 3,403 crore in March 2018 from Rs 860 crore in March 2010.
Return on assets also improved to 2.23 per cent from 0.96 per cent in the same period.
Early on in his CEO stint, the bank faced a fraud in the Gurgaon branch where a rogue relationship manager managed to hoodwink several private wealth clients.
Citi compensated the affected clients.
An ardent collector of Indian art, Jhaveri has been with Citi for almost 30 years.
He joined Citi India in 1987 straight from the Simon School of Business campus in the US from where he completed his MBA in Finance and Economics and even received the 2016 Distinguished Alumnus Award.
His father, a second-generation businessman, was a jewellery manufacturer and diamond trader.
But before Pramit could complete his education, the joint family had split and the business closed down.
He chose banking because he said that was a profession most 20-year-olds found very appealing and glamorous.
He has a BCom degree from Sydenham College, Mumbai University.
Prior to his elevation to the corner office, Jhaveri headed investment-banking, corporate finance and capital markets for the bank.
Globally, Citi restructured its portfolio post the Lehman crisis and even divided its businesses into two groups — Citicorp and Citi Holdings.
He is married to a former investment banker from DSP Merrill Lynch.
It is not yet clear who will succeed Jhaveri though names of potential internal candidates, such as Ashu Khullar, head of Asia Pacific Capital Markets Origination at Citigroup Inc, Ravi Kapoor, the head of global banking at Citi India, and K Balasubramanian who recently moved back from HDFC Bank to head corporate banking are doing the rounds.
Many believe an internal candidate from overseas may also get selected for the top job in India.
Recently, Jhaveri’s name has been linked to various senior roles in corporates such as Tata Group or as a leading contender to lead home grown private banks like Axis, Indusind or HDFC that are also going through leadership churns.
Past Citi India bosses like Sanjay Nayar had transitioned to PE firm KKR to lead the buyout group's operations in the country.
