Mergers and amalgamations will grow and deal sizes increase as the Indian economy expands, Venkat Anantharaman, the managing director responsible for mergers and amalgamations, leveraged finance and equity corporate finance at Standard Chartered Bank in Mumbai, tells Sumit Sharma in an interview.

Q&A: Venkat Anantharaman, StanChart

Business Standard

With talk of South-South trade cooperation gaining ground throughout the world in the post-crisis period, Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), Washington, DC, states that progress of trade between India and Latin America is hindered by high tariffs on both sides. Moreno, who will release a report on integrating and enhancing trade between India and Latin America at the Summit, tells Devika Banerji that India is the next big thing for Latin America.

Q&A:Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter American Development Bank

Shikha Sharma, managing director and chief executive officer of Axis Bank, says the merger of the investment banking and equities businesses of Enam Securities will help Axis offer a whole suite of investment banking products. It will make the bank one of the strongest in corporate banking, she tells Sumit Sharma.

Q&A: Shikha Sharma, MD & CEO, Axis Bank

The Switzerland-headquartered global financial player, Credit Suisse Group AG, is gradually expanding its presence in India. From setting up its investment banking and wealth management divisions, the group is now in process of setting up a bank branch in the country, for which it got a licence from the RBI in August 2010. Mihir (Mickey) Doshi, India CEO at Credit Suisse, speaks to Shyamal Majumdar and Vishal Chhabria about his views on the markets and the group&rsquo;s plan for India.

Q&A: Mihir Doshi, India CEO, Credit Suisse

Every author loves a book launch. The Reserve Bank of India&rsquo;s (RBI&rsquo;s) former governor Yaga Venugopal Reddy, who was known for his low-profile persona in office, is now happy to follow the fashion among Indian policy makers and pundits of selling books with a gala launch.

Breakfast with BS: Y V Reddy

At a time when private life insurance companies are facing a decline in sales, IDBI Federal Life expects to grow by 35 per cent year-on-year in 2010-11. Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer GV Nageshwara Rao, in an interview with Niladri Bhattacharya, says the industry will take another six months to align itself with the new regulations on unit-linked plans which came into effect from September, 2010. Edited excerpts:
The life insurance industry had seen difficult times since

Q&A: GV Nageshwara Rao, MD & CEO, IDBI Federal Life

Both my lower limbs are polio-afflicted. However, I am sufficiently independent and the physical disability does not affect my mobility. Recently, I applied for a term insurance policy. A life insurer has stipulated a premium that is 60 per cent higher than the premium applicable for a person with no disability. I wish to know the reason behind the perceived higher risk for my life.

Life Insurance: V Philip

Punjab National Bank (PNB), the country's second-largest lender, saw total business of Rs 5.55 lakh crore at the close of financial year 2010-11. The bank feels a further rate hike may put asset quality under pressure. In an interview with Manojit Saha, Chairman and Managing Director K R Kamath says a reversal in the rate cycle is possible in the the third quarter.

Q&A: K R Kamath, CMD, Punjab National Bank

The government&rsquo;s move of raising its stake in Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) to 58 per cent has given the bank headroom to dilute government stake to raise equity capital. Chairman and Managing Director Nagesh Pydah tells Manojit Saha the bank may come out with a follow-on public offer this financial year.

Q&A: Nagesh Pydah, Oriental Bank of Commerce

This year has already seen three major global catastrophes &mdash; in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Yogesh Lohiya, chairman and managing director, General Insurance Corporation (GIC), the only domestic resinsurer in the country, in an interview with Niladri Bhattacharya, says both the government and the regulator must form a pool, since over 80 per cent of land in India is prone to catastrophes.

Q&A: Yogesh Lohiya, General Insurance Corporation 

Magma Fincorp Ltd, a Kolkata-based non-banking finance company (NBFC) with assets under management of Rs 10,907 crore, recently forayed into the general insurance market with a tie-up with German insurer HDI Gerling. Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Chamria, in an interview with Niladri Bhattacharya, says the company would start with an initial capital base of over Rs 200 crore.

Q&A: Sanjay Chamria, Vice-Chairman & MD, Magma Fincrop Ltd

Atiur Rahman, governor of Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank, was in New Delhi to participate in a seminar on economic regulation. In an interview with Indivjal Dhasmana, Rahman says Bangladesh's Grameen Bank and micro financial institutions are performing well. He also says India can learn from Bangladesh's experience in the micro finance sector.

Q&A: Atiur Rahman, Governor, Bangladesh Bank

Religare Capital Markets (RCM), the Religare group&rsquo;s investment bank, is eyeing a share of Indian investment banking deals. The bank has started operations in markets in the US, UK and Southeast Asia and is currently working on deals worth $2 billion in the i-banking space. In an interview with Reghu Balakrishnan, Tarun Kataria, chief executive officer, Religare Capital Markets India, talks about RCM&rsquo;s growth strategy and his outlook on financial markets.

Q&A: Tarun Kataria, CEO, Religare Capital Markets India

In what could be a major setback to microfinance institutions (MFIs), the Andhra Pradesh government proposes to set up a non-banking financial company (NBFC) to cater to the needs of self-help groups (SHGs). The state government proposal involves roping in Andhra Bank as an equity partner. However, the chairman and managing director of the lender, R Ramachandran, says it is too early to comment on the proposed outfit.

Q&A: R Ramachandran, Andhra Bank

Vishakha Mulye faced the toughest interviews of her career after she was appointed managing director and CEO. The interviewers were representatives of some of the top global investors who wanted to figure out whether they could trust her to grow their investments, write Shyamal Majumdar and Reghu Balakrishnan.

Lunch with BS: Vishakha Mulye

With a new management in place, State Bank of India (SBI), the country&rsquo;s largest lender, is planning to focus on non-performing assets. Managing Director A Krishna Kumar, in an interview with Parnika Sokhi and Manojit Saha, talks about the new management&rsquo;s priorities and challenges.

Q&A: A Krishna Kumar, MD, State Bank of India

After taking charge as the country head and managing director of Barclays Corporate, India, Karan Bhagat changed the bank&rsquo;s focus on retail banking from the mass market to the affluent segment. In an interview with Somasroy Chakraborty, he talks about the bank&rsquo;s plans for India.

Q&A: Karan Bhagat, Barclays Corporate (India)

My Budget: Calmik Thapar

&lt;p>As the chief enterprise risk officer at Visa, the world&rsquo;s largest retail electronic payment network, Ellen Richey&rsquo;s primary responsibility is to protect the company's 1.8-billion customers from fraud. She spends a large part of her time decoding patterns of card-related fraud in various parts of the world and devises ways to combat these. She tells Malini Bhupta of some.

Q&A: Ellen Richey, Visa Inc

Given the rising number of private equity players, offshore limited partners or global investors are playing an important role by keeping investment managers under a watchful eye. Abbott Capital LLC, a US-based private equity investor since 1986, is actively scouting for opportunities in India.

Q&A: Matthew M Smith, MD, Abbott Capital

India&rsquo;s largest mortgage lender, Housing Development Finance Corporation, is betting big on education. It supplemented its acquisition of education loan company Credila Financial Services with an investment in Career Launcher's Indus World Schools. Last month, HDFC said it had bought a minority stake in Kaizen Management Advisors, the asset management company which runs India&rsquo;s first education-focused private equity fund. Executive Director V Srinivasa Rangan explains these moves to Somasroy Chakraborty.

Q&A: V S Rangan, Executive Director, HDFC

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