The global crisis, Rana Kapoor of Yes Bank says was the toughest time for the Indian banking space. How did he sail through the turbulent waters? Kapoor told moneycontrol.com that Yes banks management responded extremely well in two phases. The first phase during the crisis was really a strategy which we summarized as opportunity in adversity. That was 2008-09 when we responded well to the market changes.

We had some exogenous forces creep into our economy as we all know. They started with the foreign exchange markets, then it perpetuated into tight liquidity markets. So I think it was a very testing time and in a way our bank, as a young bank, was stress tested literally.

He signed off with a promise to make Yes bank the number 4 private sector bank organically by 2015

Q: What made you move from being a salaried MNC employee, a fairly cushy job to get out into a fairly regulated industry?

A: I have been a banker all my life. I completed 30 years in banking. Having started my career with Bank of America and ANZ, I spent 16 years and 2.5 years respectively, I think I was paid well and I was paid to become an entrepreneur.

Thats what I tell my wife and my mother and I was well looked after. At the same time it was a very good learning platform working with a cross-section of people in many countries and going through many cycles within our own country as well as my exposure in Asia.

But I must say that I had a burning desire to set up something on my own and that opportunity came knocking on our doors in early 1996 when a team from Rabo Bank met me and my late partner Ashok Kapur, which resulted in us setting up our first entrepreneurial venture.

Q: What's been the toughest time? Was it the derivatives crisis? Were you at any point of time at that time at least tempted to say, I should be out of here?

A: I must confess that even during the first phase which was really a very favourable economic phase in our country between 2004 and 2008 when we first rolled out our bank, we still had a lot of challenges because we had Greenfield challenges, the birth pangs of setting up a brand new institution with a paltry capital base of Rs 200 crore which is why we went and did an IPO, we did a couple of private placements with Swiss Re and Global Orient and then the global crisis came in 2008. Those two years almost were tough for the entire banking system even in India.

So we had some exogenous forces creep into our economy as we all know. They started with the foreign exchange markets, then it perpetuated into tight liquidity markets. So I think it was a very testing time and in a way our bank, as a young bank, was stress tested literally.

I must confess that the management here responded extremely well in two phases. The first phase during the crisis was really a strategy which we summarized as opportunity in adversity. That was 2008-09 when we responded well to the market changes.

Q: What are the skills you need for infrastructure that others wont have?

A: Today you need to invest in building strong human capital especially in banking, in skill set development, in infrastructure sectors given the contractual frameworks involved, the raw material risks for example, the off take risk.

I think some of the banks are adopting more of a commercial banking and universal approach and I think large transactions, whether it's in the energy sector, power, telecommunication require syndication capability, they require project analytics, the ability to structure and sell down for example, local and offshore. And then of course put rock solid contractual frameworks together.

Q: Where would you like to see Yes Bank in the top thre private sector banks, is that an achievable dream?

A: We are absolutely on course to become the number 4 private sector bank organically by 2015 when we achieve our destination vision for Version 2.0 of Yes Bank.