Bhandarkar quits JPMorgan to join Credit Suisse

Investment bank JPMorgan has lost two senior executives to rival Credit Suisse, which is beefing up its Indian operations.

Vedika Bhandarkar, managing director and head of investment banking at JPMorgan India, has put in her papers and is joining Credit Suisse as vice-chairman and head of investment banking in India. Also moving with her to the Swiss company is colleague Sandeep Pangal, who will join as managing director and senior banker in investment banking coverage.

This is the second set of high-profile exits from JPMorgan. Last month, Kaku Nakhate, who was vice-chairman at the US bank, put in her papers. She is slated to join as Bank of America-Merrill Lynch’s India head.

“India is central to our strategy and we are confident that Vedika and Sandeep can build on our momentum to take the business to the next level,” said Credit Suisse India CEO Mihir Doshi.

“I had a great time at JP Morgan where I spent a significant part of my career. Now, I am excited about the new opportunity and looking forward to build a new business here,” said Bhandarkar.

Hiring in the investment banking arena has picked up following the economic recovery, which has resulted in more companies tapping the markets to raise funds for expansion. During the first quarter of the current financial year, Indian companies and the government raised a total of $10.5 billion (nearly Rs 50,000 crore) from primary markets, nearly half the total raised in 2009. In this period, only Japan and China saw higher capital market issuances in the Asia-Pacific region.

“We may expect similar leadership shake-outs in other global investment banks which are looking to add senior leaders to their India teams,” said Saket Jain, managing partner at Vito India, an executive search firm for the investment banking and financial services industry.