Axis Bank Ltd is on a lookout to hire Asian expatriates to help the lender win business from multinational companies.
The bank, that recently overtook Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. to become the third largest private lender in India, is targeting mid-sized companies in this area, the fastest growing business in its corporate banking division. It sees this as an “under-served” market by global banks, according to Rajiv Anand, Axis’ deputy managing director.
Axis is focused on companies from countries like South Korea, Japan, US, Germany, Italy and France that have good ties with India. Getting the inside track into South Korean and Japanese firms has proven tougher however, due to language and cultural barriers, according to Anand.
The bank is seeking to bring on board expatriates who can help make connections with companies and their executives, Anand said. So far, it has hired a Korean expatriate, based in the southern city of Bangalore, and a Japanese, who was relocated to Mumbai.
Financial firms in India have been on a hiring spree, though the country doesn’t have the depth of domestic talent that other more established markets do. Headhunters see the likes of investment banks seeking to bring professionals who carved out careers abroad back to India and Bloomberg Intelligence said finance professionals in the country may be in line for a 10% pay rise this year, outstripping rival locations in Asia.
Axis is ranked second behind HDFC Bank Ltd. for arranging local currency loans in India so far this year, and fifth place for foreign currency loans, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
