BNP Paribas names Sanjay Singh as CEO of India operations

Mumbai: BNP Paribas is set to appoint Sanjay Singh as the new chief executive officer of its Indian operations. Singh, who is the deputy chief executive, will take over as the head of the French bank’s domestic unit on September 1. This is the first time an Indian has been appointed as BNP’s country chief since it set up shop here in 1860.

In response to an ET query, a spokesperson confirmed the bank has received Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approval to appoint Singh as chief executive officer of BNP Paribas India next month. He takes over from Aymar de Liedekerke Beaufort, who will now be the head of territory, BNP Paribas India.

BNP got the central bank’s nod to appoint Singh as CEO last week, said a person familiar with the matter.

Singh’s elevation is a deviation from the bank’s age-old practice of appointing mostly French nationals to head India operations. BNP, the world’s seventh-largest lender by assets, was one of the first foreign banks to have a presence in India in 1860. It currently employs 14,000 executives across various businesses such as corporate and institutional banking franchise in India. The bank also owns retail brokerage Sharekhan. The lender shut its domestic wealth unit last year.

Singh, who joined BNP Paribas in 2013, has been chief executive of the bank’s securities arm and head of global markets.

Before joining the French bank, he was director of Credit Suisse’s prime services and CLSA’s derivatives head.