Australia’s Westpac said on Thursday it has delved into the corporate sector for a new head of financial markets for Asia, hiring Sneha Sanghvi from Unilever.
Sanghvi was previously a finance director, covering global commodities and chemicals for the consumer goods company. She is experienced in banking too, formerly working for Morgan Stanley and HSBC in roles in fixed income sales, structuring and trading.
Westpac appointed Sanghvi into its Singapore office to replace Michael Bass, who recently relocated to the bank’s London office in a newly-minted role as head of corporate and institutional distribution, Europe and Americas.
Sanghvi reports to Balaji Swaminathan, general manager for Westpac International in Singapore, while she functionally reports to Michael Correa, Westpac’s Sydney-based head of corporate and international origination and distribution.
Sanghvi and her team have a broad remit to help Westpac bolster its fixed income and foreign exchange activities in Asia. She will particularly focus on offering investment, structured and hedging services to existing clients that operate in the region.
While Westpac is primarily Australia-focused, it has been keen to deepen its capabilities and presence in Asia, both for its corporate clients and to support retail customers. The bank stated in 2014 that it wanted to hire another 100 employees in the region by 2016. Westpac Institutional Bank invested an additional A$60 million ($43.38 million) into its Asia operations during the 2014 financial year, which included building its product and technology capabilities.
The bank recently welcomed the signing of a free trade agreement between China and Australia, anticipating that it would offer more business opportunities.
Westpac declined to comment on Sanghvi’s appointment, citing a blackout period ahead of its financial results.
