In November 2020, when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to hand over the distressed Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) to Singapore’s DBS Bank, it was the first instance of a foreign lender taking over an Indian bank. DBS Bank India CEO Surojit Shome, who oversaw that historic amalgamation, spoke to Joel Rebello about the circumstances, challenges and decisions he had to make during those months and also what that acquisition means for the bank’s plans in India. Edited excerpts:
“As soon as we went in, we started looking at contracts and quickly realised where the problems were. We ran an assessment with an external partner to assess the capability because we also wanted to make sure that if somebody was good, we could retain them. We had acquired 3,800 people. We needed to assure the good people that they had a future and that they would not be treated differently,” said DBS Bank India CEO Surojit Shome.
