HSBC India investment banking head Sunil Sanghai quits

The veteran i-banker and Dhruva announced a joint venture

Foreign lender HSBC India's vice chairman and investment banking head Sunil Sanghai quit the British banking giant on Monday and joined hands with the Dinesh Kanabar-promoted tax and regulatory firm Dhruva Advisors to start a merchant banking division.

The veteran i-banker and Dhruva on Monday announced a joint venture which will be offering investment banking solutions, a statement said.

Sources said Sanghai, who has been occupying the current position since March 2016 and with HSBC since 2010, quit the bank earlier during the day. An email sent to HSBC India spokesperson for a confirmation was not immediately answered.

The foreign bank has been on a consolidation mode here for the past few years, which has seen a decision to almost halve its retail presence and shuttering the wealth management vertical.

A spokesperson for Dhruva said the joint venture will commence by the end of next month.

Before joining HSBC, Sanghai, who started his career in 1992, worked as Goldman Sachs' managing director and co- head for investment banking and also has had stints with Morgan Stanley and JM Financial.

The statement from Dhruva said Sanghai and Kanabar's experience will be a "key differentiator" for the venture. Dhruva's tax structuring expertise and Sanghai's ability to execute complex mergers and acquisitions makes the JV "an extraordinary platform", it added.

"We would be best known for our integrity, which is the core of such a business, rather than being the biggest," Kanabar was quoted as saying.