Mizuho Bank has hired Devendra Sharma from Mashreqbank to be its co-head of corporate banking in India, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Japanese lender seeks to expand in the country.
Sharma will join the unit of Mizuho Financial Group in the coming weeks after completing his gardening leave at the Dubai-based lender, where he was head of India corporate banking, said the people who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Mizuho declined to comment, while Mashreqbank confirmed his resignation. Sharma, who worked at Mashreqbank for eight years, didn’t respond to a text message seeking comment.
Sharma will be a Mumbai-based managing director at the Japanese lender and look after the bank’s business in western India, the people said. He has about two decades of banking experience including at ICICI Bank, HSBC Holdings and National Australia Bank, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Mizuho and its Japanese peers Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group are betting big in India, with a focus on corporate and investment banking, and retail loans. Japanese lenders rank among the top 10 arrangers of offshore loans for Indian companies in the past few years, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.
