Coutts Bulks Up Asia Teams With Raft Of Hires; Several NRI Roles

Tom Burroughes

14 March 2014

Coutts, the private banking firm, has confirmed to this publication a raft of appointments in the Asia-Pacific region, several involving senior Non-Resident Indian positions, rounding out a flurry of big-team moves seen at a number of banks this week.

“During recent months, has invested significantly in its platform in Asia - we have broadened our products and services offering, and as we focus on becoming even more client-centric, we are building out a first-class front office. I am confident that the combined depth of experience and breadth of insight of these bankers will be key in the ongoing delivery of our client-servicing capabilities, providing an exceptional wealth management offering to our clients that is relevant and aligned to their individual requirements,” Ranjit Khanna, head of South East Asia & Global NRI at Coutts, said in a statement on the hires.

The hires:

Veny Teng, executive director and team leader for the Indonesia market. With more than three decades of banking experience, she joined from Credit Suisse where she led a client relationship team. She has previously worked at Clariden Leu, Deutsche Bank and American Express Bank. She joined on 10 January 2014.

Prad Goswami, vice president, NRI Asia. He has held a variety of roles within the financial services sector; he joined from Capital Mantra Advisors, a boutique investment bank in Mumbai, which he co-founded. He has also worked at Citibank India and Bank of America in the United States. He joined on 3 February 2014.

Christine Cho, director, South East Asia. She was previously based in Malaysia, with extensive onshore experience. She joined from RHB Investment Bank in Kuala Lumpur, where she headed the private banking and wealth management arm of the Bank. She has also held a variety of roles in corporate banking and commercial banking at Maybank, Kewangan Bersatu Berhad and Alliance Bank. She is also a Certified Public Accountant, and joined on 17 February 2014.

Deepak Mungla, executive director and team leader, NRI Asia. He joined from the NRI business at BNP Paribas. He has also held senior roles at Bank Sarasin in Singapore, and Alliance Bernstein and ABN Amro in India. He joined on 3 March 2014.

Rasik Ahuja, executive director and team Leader, NRI Asia. Ahuja has over 15 years experience across investment sales and products; he joined from EFG Asset Management where he was responsible for providing discretionary and advisory solutions for private banking clients. Prior to EFG, he worked at Citibank. He joined on 3 March 2014.

Cynthia Chin, executive director, South East Asia. she joined from Credit Suisse in Singapore where she was a private banker in the Indonesia team. She has also held a variety of roles across private banking, priority banking and corporate banking in her previous appointments at Clariden Leu, Deutsche Bank, Citibank, and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. She joined on 5 March 2014.

And finally, Coutts appointed Desmond Loh, executive director, South East Asia – An experienced banker focused on the Indonesia market, he joined from Credit Suisse where he was a private banker in the Indonesia team. He has also worked at Clariden Leu, Deutsche Bank and American Express Bank. He joined on 11 March 2014.