Ten Indian origin global finance stalwarts you may not have heard of - vccircle.com
Reaching the top rung of a European multinational is a herculean task, especially MNCs based in continental Europe, where language and culture take precedence over other vital parameters. Anshu Jain ’s elevation as the co-CEO of Deutsche Bank is of immense significance, though he has to share the top slot at the German bank. Jain takes over the reins of the bank even as the banking sector turmoil is being played out across Europe.
Jain is not the first global banker of Indian origin to rise to the top of the league. The banking and finance sector has seen a number of Indians emerge as CEOs including Victor Menzes (Citibank), Jay Sidhu (Sovereign Bancorp), Rana Talwar (Standard Chartered) and Aman Mehta (HSBC).
While these are the top guns, there are some other top-notch bankers and financial bigwigs who are lesser known due to their low profile or are still climbing up the hierarchy. Usual suspects like Ajit Jain (Berkshire Hathaway), Ajay Banga (MasterCard) and Jaspal Bindra (Standard Chartered) have been consciously excluded from this list.
V. Prem Watsa: Fairfax Financial Holdings
Popularly known as the Warren Buffett of Canada, Watsa leads Fairfax, a financial services holding company which is into property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, besides investment management. The Hyderabad-born IIT Madras graduate took over the reins of Fairfax in 1985 and has basked in his reputation as a value investor, though the jury is still out on his bet on BlackBerry maker Research In Motion. After setting up an India office last year, Fairfax recently sealed its first deal in the country by acquiring 77 per cent stake in the Indian unit of UK’s travel services firm Thomas Cook Group plc in a $150-million deal.
Sanjiv Das: President & CEO, CitiMortgage
Think Citibank, and Vikram Pandit grabs your attention. But Sanjiv Das is the other Indian in the top rung of the US banking behemoth. After serving eight years at Citi in the 1990s, Das served as managing director in Morgan Stanley's Institutional Securities Group. Four years ago he returned to head CitiMortgage. The mathematics grad from Delhi University who went on to complete an MBA in marketing and finance from IIM Ahmedabad, heads the unit which provides information about mortgages, home refinancing and home loan products.
Purna Saggurti: Chairman of Global Corporate Investment Banking, Bank of America
Saggurti heads a unit which had around $11.2 billion in revenues in 2010. Prior to being named to his current role, he has served as the co-head of global investment banking and worked on bulge bracket deals for clients including Dow, Dupont, Engelhard, GE, Hoechst, Huntsman, Lyondell Basell, Merck, Potash Corp and Reliance. A chemical engineer from Andhra University and an MBA from Wharton, Saggurti has previously worked as Head of Americas Origination at Merrill Lynch, which included all investment banking, M&As and capital markets origination in the US, Canada and Latin America.
V Shankar: Group executive director and board member, Standard Chartered PLC
Dubai-based Shankar is chief executive for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Americas of Standard Chartered. Shankar is also the executive chairman of Principal Finance and chairman of The Private Bank. Before joining Standard Chartered Bank in September 2011, Shankar, a physics graduate from Chennai and MBA from IIM Bangalore, spent almost two decades with Bank of America in Asia and the US. In his last stint with Bank of America, Shankar was a managing director - Head of Asia-Pacific Investment Banking and CEO of Bank of America Asia Limited based in Hong Kong.
Suneel Kamlani: Deputy CEO Markets & International Banking, Chairman of Markets & International Banking, Americas, Deputy Head of RBS Group, Americas
Kamlani, whose RBS stint began two years ago as the President of Global Banking & Markets, currently oversees the businesses which provide financing, risk management and advisory services to major corporations, financial institutions and public sector clients for RBS. He is also in charge of all Logistics & Control functions, including Finance, Risk, Legal, Operations, Technology, HR, and Communications & Marketing. Kamlani has put in over 25 years in investment banking. He was also COO of UBS’ global investment bank and a member of the UBS Group managing board. At UBS, he held various roles including Global Head of Debt Capital Markets, Head of European Fixed Income, Head of US Debt Capital Markets and Head of Investment Banking & Fixed Income, Asia.
Punit Renjen: Chairman, Deloitte
Renjen is a Deloitte veteran, having spent over two decades with it. Before taking over as the chairman of Deloitte, Renjen held a string of leadership roles. Most recently Renjen was Chairman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP, where he led Strategy & Operations (S&O) and M&A Consultative Services for Deloitte Consulting in the US as well as for the global network, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL). He also chairs the Deloitte LLP board.
Ashok Varadhan: Global Head of Currencies & Emerging Markets, Goldman Sachs
Varadhan became a partner managing director (PMD) at top bracket US bank Goldman Sachs at the age of 29. Now in his late 30s, Varadhan is the global head of foreign exchange trading. The son of a mathematics academic at New York University, Varadhan was elevated to Goldman Sachs’ management committee a few months back. Varadhan joined Goldman Sachs in 1998 in Swaps Trading and quickly became head of USD Derivative Trading in 2000, head of North American IRP in 2001, global head of Currencies in 2007 and global head of Emerging Markets in 2008. Prior to joining the firm, he was a vice president in Swaps Trading for Merrill Lynch. Varadhan is seen as a strong contender to take over as the chief of Goldman Sachs in future.
Vijay Advani: Executive Vice President, Franklin Templeton
Advani drives Franklin Templeton’s global retail and institutional distribution strategies and initiatives, including sales, marketing, client service and product development. He joined Templeton in 1995 as the President of Templeton Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd. in Mumbai before moving to Singapore in 2000 as the Regional Managing Director, Product Development, Sales & Marketing for Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa. He relocated to the US two years later. Prior to joining Franklin, Advani worked at the World Bank in Washington where his primary responsibility was providing advisory and technical assistance to government authorities. After getting a bachelors degree in accounting & finance from Bombay University, Advani went on to bag an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Nikhil Srinivasan: CIO, Allianz Investment Management
Delhi-born Srinivasan who completed his schooling in Kolkata was appointed as the chief investment officer of the half-a-trillion-dollar fund manager Allianz Investment Management a little over a year ago. Based at the company's headquarters in Munich, he is responsible for powering the group's investment strategy across asset classes. He joined Allianz in 2003 and prior to joining its headquarters in January 2011, he was the regional Chief Investment Officer for Allianz Investment Management in Asia, based in Singapore. Concurrently, Srinivasan also held the posts of Chief Investment Officer for AGI Asia Pacific and CEO of AGI Singapore. The initial years of his career, which started in 1994, were mostly spent in Asia. He has also worked as a banker and money manager for top firms including Morgan Stanley.
Dinakar Singh: Founder, TPG-Axon Capital Management
Singh partnered with TPG to form New York-based asset management firm TPG Axon over seven years ago after moving out from Goldman Sachs, where he was a partner. At Goldman Sachs, he was co-head of the Principal Strategies department and during his 14 years at the US bank, Singh served on a number of the firm’s key leadership committees, including the Securities Division Operating Committee, Risk Committee, Partnership Committee and Asia Management Committee.
Edwards Case Shows How Complex Campaign Finance Law Can Be - US News and World Report
Former Sen. John Edwards campaigning in Des Moines, Iowa during his 2008 presidential run.
After a drawn-out trial and nine days of jury deliberations, John Edwards was acquitted on one charge and his case was ruled as a mistrial, but the campaign finance landscape is no clearer than it was before.
The jury found Edwards not guilty on count 3—that he broke campaign finance law in accepting $700,000 from a billionaire supporter in 2008.
[Read: Jurors in John Edwards' Case Reach Verdict]
Neither side denied Edwards took the money and used it to cover up an affair. But U.S. Attorney George Holding indicted Edwards last summer under the belief that doing so was a crime under one interpretation of campaign finance law.
The case turned on deceptively complex question: Were the secret payments made, with Edwards' knowledge, for the purpose of influencing his 2008 presidential campaign? If so, they were illegal campaign contributions. If not, they were personal gifts.
The prosecution argued that Edwards solicited the money to hide his mistress and illegitimate child in order to maintain his public image during the 2008 presidential campaign. The defense depicted Edwards' actions as morally, not legally, wrong. The money was personal, Edwards' lawyers argued, used to hide the affair from his cancer-stricken wife, not keep afloat a 2008 campaign which was effectively over.
Had Edwards been found guilty, the legal definition of a campaign contribution, now defined vaguely as money given with the intent to "influence an election," would have been made more clear. The campaign finance implications of that would have been vast, but it would have taken a stronger case, legal experts say.
"In terms of campaign finance, you have to have that smoking gun," says Meredith McGehee, policy director at the Campaign Legal Center. "The prosecution was unable clearly to provide clear evidence, beyond the testimony of Mr. Young, that there was willful and knowing illegal activity by Mr. Edwards."
Given the current law and legal precedents, the prosecution's case was novel and the verdict a dodged bullet, says Allison Hayward, vice president of policy at the Center for Competitive Politics.
"Had there been a guilty verdict, especially on count 3, you would've had a lot of confusion among the bar and other prosecutors," Hayward says. "That the court would instruct the jury that the donor's purpose was somehow what made this a camp contribution, not the person being charged, that was a bit scary."
[Read: Justice Dept. Unlikely to Retry Edwards]
Edwards' case was interpreted differently by legal experts on both sides: the judge, the prosecutors, and Edwards' team. But however campaign finance law is interpreted, prosecutors should build a strong case before bringing an indictment, says Rick Hasen, a campaign finance expert and professor at UC-Irvine.
"This was a weak case to begin with," says Hasen. "(The verdict) doesn't have broad implications for campaign finance other than it might make prosecutors worry."
In many campaign finance law prosecutions, those being indicted are motivated by alleged political motivations, Hasen says. In this case, Edwards' indictment was brought by a Bush-appointed attorney general, George Holding, who this month won a GOP primary for a Congressional seat in a district that includes the courthouse where Edwards was tried.
"Whether or not there's any truth to that in this case or others I don't know," Hasen says. "But given the nature of the campaigns, I think prosecutors have a motive to chase the big fish. The incentives for prosecuting a political are very high."
Edwards case made one thing clear for both sides: campaign finance law is complex and prosecuting it is not easy.
Forex: USD/CAD back to 1.0400 - FXStreet.com
'We're stable': Cash-strapped Spain's finance minister says nation is back on track despite claims it asked IMF for massive €300BILLION bailout - Daily Mail
- World finance bosses deny rumours of staggering bailout plan
- But sources say contingency preparations are well under way
- Loans would be from IMF and EU, leaving British taxpayers footing part
- European markets rocky: FTSE-100 plunges to year-long low
- FTSE-100 is 0.87% down; CAC 40 is 1.47% down; DAX is 2.58% down
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Spain's finance minister today said his nation was fiscally stable and on the right track - despite claims it has asked the International Monetary Fund for a massive €300billion bailout.
Cristobal Montoro said that Spain's 17 semi-autonomous regions were meeting strict deficit reduction targets, meaning his government's plan was adhering to EU rules and working.
But his comments were surprising, seeing as sources said Spain wanted the staggering amount of cash to help prop up its ailing economy.
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Talks: IMF boss Christine Lagarde (left) has denied rumours that Spain wants a €300billion bailout, as the nation's finance minister Cristobal Montoro (right) said the country was 'stable'
Working lunch: German chancellor Angela Merkel sits with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso Baltic Sea States leaders earlier this week
The speculation, which has so far been denied by IMF, intensified as Spain's deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria flew into Washington for talks with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
But all parties insisted the visit was 'routine' and mainly concerned with discussing how Spain can finance an overhaul of its banking sector.
The loans, which would come from both the EU and the IMF, would end up costing British taxpayers who would have to foot part of the bill.
World markets are currently rocky due to the fears, with the FTSE-100 plunging to a year-long low.
The FTSE-100 is 0.87 per cent down at 5,274.51; France's CAC 40 is 1.47 per cent down at 2,972.55; and Germany's DAX is 2.58 per cent down at 6,102.50.
Spain's banking system has been crippled by nearly €120billion of toxic loans to homeowners and developers. One in four Spaniards are now out of work.
Saenz de Santamaria said that it was 'just a coincidence' that she was coming to Washington in the midst of the banking crisis because her meetings were scheduled months ago.
Desperate: European leaders scrambled to stop the financial crisis in Spain spiralling out of control and infecting other countries such as Italy
But if it is a coincidence, then it is also extremely convenient, seeing as the Spanish economy is this week going through a particularly thorny period.
The government nationalised major bank Bankia earlier this month, and now says it needs to inject $23.6billion in public money into the bank - more than twice what the government had estimated.
And doubts over how recession-hit Spain will handle the bailout have sparked concerns that the country will soon follow Greece, Portugal and Ireland in asking for financial assistance.
The amount it pays on its 10-year government bonds has been rising steadily towards the critical 7 per cent level that saw those three nations begging for financial help.
Today it stands at a worrying 6.57 per cent.
Lagarde called her meeting with Saenz de Santamaria productive. She also denied a Wall Street Journal report that the IMF was drawing up plans for a rescue loan for Spain.
Saenz de Santamaria said that she discussed with Geithner some of the ideas being discussed in Europe about how to set up a fund to recapitalise European banks.
She said: 'The problem is not Spain as a country. But our financial system in a given moment has needs just like the other states had at other times.'
The denial comes as senior European officials last night issued a grave warning that the very survival of the euro is at risk as the crisis in Spain threatens to tear the region apart.
Politicians and central bankers said the situation in the eurozone was unsustainable and drastic action was needed to prevent the ‘disintegration’ of the single currency.
Crisis: Spain's government nationalised major bank Bankia earlier this month, and now says it needs to inject $23.6billion in public money into the bank
'EUROZONE JOBLESS HITS RECORD HIGH AND WILL KEEP ON RISING'
Eurozone unemployment has hit a record high and job losses are likely to keep climbing as the debt crisis eats away at businesses' ability to hire workers while indebted governments continue to cut staff.
Around 17.4million people were out of work in the 17-nation eurozone in April (11 per cent of the working population) - the highest level since records began in 1995, the EU's statistics office Eurostat said today.
'This 11 percent level is going to continue edging up in the coming months and probably until the end of the year,' said Francois Cabau, an economist at Barclays Capital who sees the eurozone's economy contracting 0.1 per cent this year.
'The economic activity situation tells you the story of the labour market. There's been basically no economic growth since the fourth quarter of last year and indicators are pointing to very weak growth momentum for the second quarter,' he said.
ING economist Martin van Vliet said he sees the unemployment rate reaching slightly above 11.5 per cent if the economy starts to recover later this year. But if the downturn worsens, 'the risk is for an even higher peak in unemployment,' he said.
As the debt crisis intensifies, companies in the euro zone are trying to keep their labour costs low as they struggle with falling demand and profits, while a German-led drive to cut deficits and debt is pressuring governments to shrink spending.
But some economists say austerity policies in an economic downturn are self-defeating because governments receive less tax receipts as unemployment grows and must pay out more money in jobless benefits.
They spoke out as European leaders scrambled to stop the financial crisis in Spain spiralling out of control and infecting other countries such as Italy.
The euro crashed to a 23-month low against the US dollar at $1.2335 but was up slightly against sterling having recovered from its lowest level since late 2008. Last night, 1 was worth €1.2460.
Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, said the eurozone was unsustainable in its current form.
In his sharpest criticism yet of eurozone leaders’ handling of the crisis, he said the European Central Bank could not ‘fill the vacuum’ left by governments in terms of economic growth or structural reforms.
And he called for overwhelming force to be used to shore up Europe’s battered banks to restore confidence in the financial system.
Ignazio Visco, governor of the Bank of Italy and a senior ECB member, said political inertia and bad economic decisions have put ‘the entire European edifice’ at risk.
‘There are growing doubts among international investors about governments’ ability to ensure the survival of the single currency,’ he said.
Olli Rehn, EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner, said bold action was required ‘if we want to avoid a disintegration of the eurozone’.
The apocalyptic tone from usually measured EU officials betrayed the spreading sense of panic.
Irish voters are likely to approve a European treaty on budget discipline in yesterday’s referendum – securing continued aid.
The result will be announced later today.
But the outcome of a second Greek election on June 17 – seen as crucial for the country’s future in the eurozone – is too close to call.
Forex Signals - EURUSD June Trading - Int'l Business Times
Recap: We were saved by the false breakouts yesterday, helping to keep our losses minimal as the markets drifted along without any sort of conviction. First was our long from 1.2411 at 10:12 UTC - that candle closed at 1.2405 getting us out of the long with a small 6 pip loss. Then our short was triggered on the support break at 1.2341 - that entry candle closed at 1.2362, kicking us out of our trade with a 21 pip loss. Total EU for the day: -27 pips. Remember, a key part of any swing trading strategy is to keep our losses small and let our profits run and false breakouts are just one of the tools we use to do so with our system.
FOREX-Euro near 2-year low on Spain woes, Japan warns on yen - Reuters UK
* Euro near 2-year low vs dollar on Spanish bank concerns
* Yen off highs, market becoming wary of intervention
* Japan threatens action vs yen rise (Recasts, adds quote, changes dateline PVS SINGAPORE)
By Anirban Nag
LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - The euro was near a two-year low against the dollar on Friday and stayed close to its lowest in more than a decade versus the yen on growing uncertainty about how Spain will recapitalise its ailing banking sector and fix its public finances.
Japan said the yen's strength was being driven by speculators and stepped up warnings that it could intervene to curb the currency's rise, saying it would act decisively if excessive market moves continued.
The euro fell to as low as $1.2324 on trading platform EBS at one point, its weakest since July 2010. It last fetched $1.2345, down 0.1 percent on the day, with a drop towards $1.20 likely as bears remain firmly in control.
The drop in the common currency came as Spaniards sent money abroad in droves, worried about the health of the banking system. Bank of Spain data showed a net 66.2 billion euros ($82.0 billion) was sent abroad in March, the most since records began in 1990.
"It is looking very bearish for the euro with the latest capital flows data showing a significant amount leaving Spanish banks, all of which indicate they will probably need official help," said Peter Kinsella, currency strategist at Commerzbank.
Any help from the European rescue fund for Spain would mean an additional tax burden on Germany, Europe's paymaster, and could hurt the safe-haven status of German bunds, he added.
"It is not a situation where there is much help for the euro and chances are it is headed towards $1.20."
With German two-year yields near zero, traders said a lot of safe-haven flows have, so far, stayed within the single currency area. But if that were to change, the euro's decline against the dollar and the yen could accelerate considerably.
The euro's selloff has gained steam this week as Spain's borrowing costs surged on worries it may need to issue more debt to recapitalise its banks, adding stress to markets already frayed by anxiety that Greece may exit the euro zone.
The rising borrowing costs risk pushing Spain towards an international bailout. The yield spread between Spanish 10-year government bonds and German Bunds have risen to euro-era highs this week, and the euro has fallen almost in lock step with that move.
"We're looking for $1.18 by the end of Q3, and at this rate, it could happen before that," said Callum Henderson, global head of FX research for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.
"During this risk-off environment, the U.S. dollar is the only place to be," he added.
YEN INTERVENTION JITTERS
Apart from the dollar, the safe-haven yen has also been in demand. The euro was steady against the yen at 96.90 yen , not far from an 11-1/2-year low of 96.48 yen struck the previous day.
On Thursday, the euro got a brief lift after The Wall Street Journal said the International Monetary Fund was discussing a contingency plan for a rescue loan to bail out Spain's third largest bank. The report, however, was specifically refuted by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
The euro may not get much respite even if Spain gets an international bailout, said Standard Chartered's Henderson.
"If Spain had to be bailed out, the market would instantly focus its attention on Italy. Current European Union and IMF resources cannot fund bailouts of both Spain and Italy," he said.
So the risk of contagion will support the safe-haven yen. The Japanese currency's broad surge this week, including its rise to a 3-1/2-month high versus the dollar, are making market players wary about the potential for Japanese yen-selling intervention, traders say.
Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Japan would act if excessive yen strength continued while the country's top currency diplomat signalled Japan was willing to act alone as it was becoming clear that yen rises were being driven by speculators.
The dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 78.46 yen but remained close to Thursday's low of 78.21 yen, the dollar's lowest level against the yen since mid-February.
A fall in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield to a record low this week has cut the yield advantage of Treasuries over Japanese government bonds, and has helped drag the dollar lower against the yen.
Traders say the dollar could come under renewed pressure against the yen if U.S. jobs data due on Friday comes in weak. The data is expected to show U.S. employers created 150,000 jobs in May. (Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano in Singapore; Editing by Susan Fenton)
If that's stable then god help us all if ever we became unstable.
- VFN, London, 01/6/2012 17:43
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