RBS Coutts appoints new market head for South Asia

RBS Coutts, the international private banking arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland, has appointed Ranjit Khanna as market head for non-resident Indians (NRI) and South Asia, according to an announcement.

He will join in Singapore in June, tasked with driving the growth of the bank's NRI and South Asia business, and will report to Paul Davies, head of private banking for South Asia. 

"We established the NRI business a decade ago; and over the years gained an in-depth understanding of the needs of our clients in this segment. That business has grown rapidly, and today the NRI and South Asian business is among the most established in the region," said Nick Pollard, Hong Kong-based chief executive officer at RBS Coutts Asia. "Ranjit will play an instrumental role in taking the business to the next level, reinforcing our leadership position in the NRI space in Asia."

Khanna has 20 years of experience in the banking sector. Prior to joining RBS Coutts he was managing director in private banking at Bank Sarasin Alpen in Dubai, where he led the establishment of the onshore private bank in India and developed the NRI business in the Gulf. Prior to this, he spent 15 years at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore and Dubai, holding a number of senior roles in private banking, investment services and affluent banking.

RBS Coutts has been weathering a reasonable amount of turnover of late. In mid-May the bank announced that Esther Heer, RBS Coutts's former head of private banking for North Asia, had left the firm. It has appointed Ignatius KK (Iggy) Chong as its new head of private banking for North Asia.

Last year the firm lost more than 70 people from its Singapore business after chief executive Hanspeter Brunner left in August to join Swiss rival Banca della Svizzera Italiana (BSI), a Swiss private bank owned by Italian insurer Generali.