HDFC Bank, India’s second-biggest private sector bank, has hired Donald D’Souza as head of equity capital markets (ECM) in its investment banking division.
D’Souza joined HDFC earlier this month and has already started his role as the head of ECM based in Mumbai, said a spokesperson at the bank. The banker previously worked as the president of investment banking at financial services company India Infoline.
In the new role, he leads the bank’s ECM business, which includes origination and execution of capital-raising mandates. He reports to Rakesh Singh, who is the head of investment banking.
Prior to that, D’Souza had held key positions at Kotak, CLSA and JM Financial. With around 17 years of experience in the Indian investment banking industry, his expertise lies in equity products, including public offerings, placements, rights issues, depositary receipts, block trades, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity.
“We are delighted to have Donald at the helm of our equity capital markets practice, which has evolved to be an extremely important business for us,” Singh wrote in a news release yesterday, which announced the appointment. “He has built a strong set of relationships with some of India’s leading corporates and private equity groups and enjoys respect in the eyes of his colleagues and peers.”
HDFC’s three main business segments consist of retail banking, wholesale banking and treasury operations, and it provides a range of financial products and services to 21 million customers in India. As of December 31, 2011, the bank had a distribution network of 2,201 branches and 7,110 ATMs in 1,174 locations.
“It’s exciting to have got this opportunity to work with HDFC Bank, which has stepped up its presence in the investment banking space over the last couple of years,” D’Souza said in the release.
With the Indian stock market on a recovery track — the BSE India Sensex Index has gained about 12% this year, after a 25% drop in 2011 — ECM activities in the country have also been picking up steam.
So far this year, Indian issuers have raised a total of $2.9 billion, compared to $535 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, and up 21% from the $2.4 billion raised in the same period last year, according to data by Dealogic as of last week. India ranks third in Asia-Pacific issuer tables, excluding Japan, with a 10.9% share, behind China and Hong Kong, which have a 35.6% and 25.8% share, respectively, according to the data.
