Singapore-based DBS has announced an internal promotion to the role of chief executive of its India banking unit.
DBS Bank India has appointed Rajat Verma as CEO, according to a statement, effective 1 March 2025 following approval by the Reserve Bank of India. He will also join DBS’ group management committee.
Verma has 27 years of experience across consumer and corporate banking including transactional banking, financial institutions, sustainable finance, micro and SME banking as well as branch banking. He is currently head of institutional banking group (IBG) at DBS Bank India. Prior to joining DBS in June 2023, he worked at HSBC India as managing director and country head of commercial banking.
«A banking veteran, Rajat has solidified our India IBG business since joining us 18 months ago,» said DBS CEO Piyush Gupta. «With our robust platform, DBS is well-positioned to continue participating in the India growth story over the coming years. I am confident that Rajat will build on what has been accomplished and take the business to the next level.»
10-Year Run
Verma succeeds Surojit Shome, who will retire on 28 February 2025. Shome has been CEO of DBS Bank India since 2015 and has «significantly expanded» the India franchise. He led the launch of digibank – India’s first mobile-only bank – in 2016, the subsidiarization of DBS in India in 2019 and the merger of Lakshmi Vilas Bank in 2020. Today, DBS Bank India is present in more than 350 locations in 19 states within the country.
«India has been a key market for DBS over the last 30 years and under Surojit’s leadership, over the last decade, DBS India has grown impressively to become a full-service platform across the institutional banking, wealth and retail segments. We thank Surojit for his strong vision and unwavering commitment to excellence in growing DBS India into the strong franchise it is today,» Gupta added.
