India Names K.V. Kamath as Chief of New BRICS Development Bank

   By Shefali Anand 
 

MUMBAI--The Indian government has appointed K. V. Kamath as chief of a new development bank created by the emerging BRICS economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Like the World Bank, the New Development Bank as it will be called, will finance infrastructure projects in emerging markets.

Last year, leaders of the BRICS countries decided to base the bank in Shanghai, with initial capital of $50 billion, and pick its first chief executive from India.

On Monday, India appointed Mr. Kamath to the role of chief executive, according to an official with the ministry of finance.

Mr. Kamath is currently the non-executive chairman of the boards of ICICI Bank Ltd. (532174.BY), India's largest non state-run bank by assets, as well as Infosys Ltd. (500209.BY), one of India's largest information technology firms.

The veteran banker started his career in 1971 at an Indian financial institution that was later merged with what is now ICICI Bank. In 1988, he started working with the Asian Development Bank before returning to ICICI Bank as its managing director in 1996. He retired from the bank in April 2009 to take over as its non-executive chairman.

In 2008, Mr. Kamath was awarded the Padma Bhushan, given by the president of India to non-military personnel who have distinguished themselves in any field.

Write to Shefali Anand at [e-mail]

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