Investment banking and deal-making has always been a critical business for Citi in India. K Balasubramanian, the CEO for India subcontinent sub-cluster & banking head, said 2025 has exceeded expectations and he expects it to end on a high as well.
Saying that 2024 was a bumper year from an initial public offering (IPO) standpoint, he expected 2025 to pan out the same way but it has surprised many investment bankers, including Bala, as his colleagues and friends call him.
“It's a great match of demand and supply. Between now and December 15, we may see another $10-15 billion of capital being raised from the market, assuming the market continues to be constructive,” he told Moneycontrol.
Citi was in the lead for two big listings — Tata Capital and LG Electronics — that happened earlier this month. Citi has a pipeline of listings that may well spill over into the first half of 2026 as well. “I can't ask for anything better,” he said.
Return of FIIs
What is equally reassuring is the gradual return of foreign institutional investors. “We are seeing some bit of activity with financial and foreign institutional investors coming back to the market since early October, and for the first time in the last 12 months, the Nifty has already touched 25,700 points,” the CEO said.
When asked about valuations and the multiples that some of the recent IPOs commanded, Balasubramanian said as long as growth remains promising, there is a fundamental justification for valuations.
“Consumption is going to be a continuing theme to play out in India. If you look at India versus other parts of Asia, our penetration is much lower in most of the products. So even if you're putting a small multiplier, this growth is something that is here to stay,” he said.
Buzzing BFSI sector
Apart from IPOs, Citi was also associated with some of the marquee deals in the financial services space this year. Be it the Yes Bank–Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) deal or State Bank of India’s Rs 25,000-crore qualified institutional placement, the largest such issuance by a bank, or the recently concluded IHC–Sammaan Capital preferential issue, Citi had its name on every big deal. “Financial services sector continues to be quite active,” Balasubramanian said.
Unique positioning
Asked if Citi wanted to be in the “acquirer” mode to cash in on the buzzing financial services sector, Balasubramanian said the bank's focus is on deepening its existing business lines following its exit from the retail sector.
“We are in a very good shape in terms of market share in each of the verticals. At this point in time in India, we are looking at vertical expansion such as trying to go deeper into our existing business lines and see how we can get more of the market share,” he said.
His objective is to position Citi as a full-suite institutional bank. “India doesn't have a pure play institutional bank. With that perspective, we are better off in our vertical strategy,” he said.
He is clear that Citi is better off operating as a branch of its US outfit rather than a wholly owned subsidiary. “(With) the business model that we are in today, there is no significant advantage of becoming a WOS (wholly owned subsidiary),” he said.
Some of newer players such as Emirates NDB received Reserve Bank of India’s in-principle approval to operate as a WOS in India and reports have suggested that SMBC may follow the same path.
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