Zarin Daruwala appointed as CEO of StanChart Bank India

Standard Chartered’s India unit, which was one of the most profitable markets for the Asia-focussed bank a few years ago, has seen a sharp spike in loan losses in the last couple of years, denting its global balance sheet.

ICICI Bank’s head of corporate banking division Zarine Daruwala has quit the Mumbai based lender to join United Kingdom base Standard Chartered as its India CEO, two people familiar with the development said.

As president of the wholesale banking group at ICICI Bank, India’s top private sector lender, Daruwala led teams including corporate banking, project finance, structured finance and financial institutions, Standard Chartered said in a statement.

Commenting on the appointment, Ajay Kanwal, Regional CEO, ASEAN & South Asia said: “I am delighted Zarin Daruwala is joining Standard Chartered”.

“I am confident she will build on our more than 150 years of history and our leading position as the India’s largest foreign bank”, Kanwal added.

A chartered accountant and company secretary, Daruwala was one of the top rankers in both ICSI and ICAI courses and won the President’s gold medal for company secretary programme. Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters has revealed plans to cut about 15,000 jobs globally and exit or restructure about $100 billion of assets.

Yesterday, ICICI had elevated Mulye as an executive director on the board of the bank.

Zarin will be the third ICICI Bank executive to head a bank in India, after Kochchar, Sharma and Kalpana Morparia, who now heads JP Morgan in India. Daruwala, who has been with the ICICI Bank since June 1989, worked in different capacities, including mergers and acquisitions.