J.P. Morgan has poached Vinay Gandhi from Deutsche Bank to head its global India business for the private bank.
Gandhi joins J.P. Morgan as a managing director, will be based in Singapore and will cover ultra-high-net-worth Indian clients around the world. He will report to Paul Scibetta, chief executive officer of J.P. Morgan's private bank in Asia, and will be a member of the operating committee of J.P. Morgan's private bank.
"The India market is a top growth priority for us, and Vinay brings unparalleled knowledge and experience with ultra-high-net-worth Indian clients to lead our efforts," Scibetta said in a written statement.
Gandhi was earlier head of South Asia for private wealth management at Deutsche Bank in Singapore, responsible for the coverage of non-resident Indians (NRI) in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
J.P. Morgan serves its upper tier of wealthy clients (ultra-high-net-worth individuals) through the private bank and HNWIs through private wealth management. It had $1.3 billion of assets under management globally as of September 30, of which $180 billion was from ultra-HNWIs.
A number of private banks are growing their Asia teams as the region's wealthy are increasingly seeking professional advice. Swiss boutique private bank Clariden Leu has been on a senior hiring spree, poaching mostly from Deutsche. Last week Clariden appointed Raymond Chung and David Louie, both from Deutsche, as co-heads of North Asia.
Standard Chartered confirmed recently that it would be adding 100 relationship managers to its current strength of 350 RMs over the next 12 months.
