Nayyar will be based in Mumbai and will report to Pramit Jhaveri, CitiÆs head of global banking for India. Nayyar has been with Lehman since 2000.
ôThe hiring of Nalin reflects the increasing opportunities we see to help our clients in India grow by giving them access to the full suite of CitiÆs local and global capabilities in the capital markets,ö says Jhaveri in a written statement.
The hire comes at a time when Citi is facing uncertainties in many subprime-affected markets and is expected to be downsizing staff numbers. It underscores how well the India investment banking franchise is performing. On the back of its willingness to put its balance sheet to work and its advisory capabilities, Citi has been able to win investment banking mandates across products in India. This is even more significant at a time when a number of global players such as Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley are also enhancing their focus on opportunities in the country.
Nayyar is the second managing director-level hire that Citi has made for India investment banking in the last year. In May 2007 the bank hired Ravi Lambah from Credit Suisse as a managing director. Lambah also reports to Jhaveri and has a strong telecommunications, media and technology background. Jhaveri and Devinjit Singh, who focuses on M&A, are also managing directors.
Nayyar is coming full circle in joining Citi as he worked with the bank between 1992 and 2000, before he joined Lehman. Nayyar has worked with Lehman in both London and Mumbai.
At Lehman, Nayyar was working with ex-Citibanker Surojit Shome, who Lehman hired to head its investment banking franchise. Shome headed CitiÆs corporate banking franchise for Indian and the sub-continent as well as heading the bankÆs financial institutions group before he joined Lehman in November 2006.
Meanwhile, Nayyar is the second senior banker Lehman has lost in the past several months after Jayanta Banerjee quit at the end of last year. Banerjee was with Lehman less than six months before deciding to return to his former employer, ICICI Ventures.
Lehman had no comment on Nayyar's departure.
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