DBS Bank nominates Rajat Verma to be next India unit CEO, say sources

Rajat Verma was appointed DBS managing director and head of institutional banking for India last year

DBS's India unit has nominated its head of institutional banking, Rajat Verma, to be the bank's new chief executive officer, two people familiar with the matter said.

He is slated to replace Surojit Shome, who plans to retire after leading DBS Bank India since 2015, the sources said, adding that his nomination has been submitted to the Reserve Bank of India.

India's central bank must approve all appointments of bank CEOs.

The sources declined to be identified as the discussions were confidential. A spokesperson for Singapore's biggest bank declined to comment, while Verma, Shome and the RBI did not respond to Reuters queries.

Verma was appointed DBS managing director and head of institutional banking for India last year.

Before joining DBS, he spent more than 26 years at HSBC, where he was head of commercial banking in India, according to his LinkedIn profile.

DBS, which has been operating in India for roughly three decades, said last year it had more than 530 branches in 19 Indian states.