HDFC Bank expands investment banking team

Makes three senior level appointments

HDFC Bank, the second largest private sector lender in the country, today said it has made three senior level appointments in its investment banking business division.

Ajay Gupta, who joins the bank from GE Capital, will lead the infrastructure finance business. A former civil servant, Gupta has also worked in the corporate and investment banking division at Wachovia Bank. He set up the foreign bank's infrastructure finance business in India.

Akshay Dixit has been appointed as the head of financial services business in corporate finance vertical of HDFC Bank's investment banking operations. He joins the private lender from MAPE Advisory Group, where he spent seven years and led the financial services, merger and acquisition, and private equity funding and advisory practice.

HDFC Bank named Abhishek Sharma as the head of healthcare and pharmaceuticals vertical. Sharma holds an MBBS degree and was also with MAPE Advisory Group. He was instrumental in closing several multi-million dollar merger and acquisition and private equity deals in the healthcare sector.

"The appointments have been made keeping in mind the larger objective of growing our investment banking business. As we continue to strategically develop our capabilities and add depth to our team, the extensive relationships and industry knowledge which the three bring will only enhance our ability to offer the best to our customers across sectors," Rakesh Singh, head of investment banking at HDFC Bank, said in a statement.

Currently, HDFC Bank doesn't have any significant presence in the equity fund raising space in India. While its rivals like ICICI Bank and State Bank of India featured among top 10 investment banks on Bloomberg's league tables for equity fund raising in India for 2011.

Its smaller rival Axis Bank, recently,  formed a new investment banking subsidiary Axis Capital, formed through merger with Enam Securities. In 2010, Enam took the third position in league table for equity fund raising in India.