Standard Chartered's India Unit Names Zarin Daruwala as CEO

Standard Chartered's India unit said Tuesday it appointed a new chief executive, after leaving the position vacant for months.

The lender said it appointed Zarin Daruwala as CEO of its Indian operations, to replace Sunil Kaushal, who was earlier in the year promoted to regional CEO for Africa and the Middle East.

Standard Chartered has been cutting its India exposure partly because of a change in strategy after Bill Winters took over as the London-based bank's CEO in June. The bank has indicated it will further trim its business in India.

Like other banks in India, Standard Chartered has suffered from the weight of bad loans. Of around $20 billion of loans that Standard Chartered's India unit has outstanding, $1 billion worth of loans are at risk of a potential default, according to a person familiar with the matter.

"The external environment in India is quite challenging at the moment and we are seeing stress across the banking sector," a spokesman for the bank said Tuesday. He said that some of the bank's new measures will allow it to continue to support the development of its Indian customers.

Ms. Daruwala is currently president of the Wholesale Banking Group at ICICI Bank, one of India's largest banks, according to a news release by Standard Chartered.

Write to Gabriele Parussini at [e-mail] and Shefali Anand at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 17, 2015 10:55 ET (15:55 GMT)

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