DBS Bank nominates Rajat Verma to be next India CEO: Report

A worker walks past a DBS logo before an event in Mumbai

DBS's India unit has nominated its head of institutional banking, Rajat Verma, to be the bank's new chief executive officer, two people familiar with the matter said.

He is slated to replace Surojit Shome, who plans to retire after leading DBS Bank India since 2015, the sources said, adding that his nomination has been submitted to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

DBS confirmed Shome's retirement plans late on Tuesday.

It said it was currently awaiting RBI's approval on the successor and will make an announcement once regulatory approvals are in place.

India's central bank must approve all appointments of bank CEOs.

DBS did not elaborate on Shome's replacement.

The sources declined to be identified as the discussions were confidential. A spokesperson for Singapore's biggest bank declined to comment, while Verma, Shome and the RBI did not respond to Reuters queries.

Verma was appointed DBS managing director and head of institutional banking for India last year.

Before joining DBS, he spent more than 26 years at HSBC, where he was head of commercial banking in India, according to his LinkedIn profile.

DBS, which has been operating in India for about three decades, said last year it had more than 530 branches in 19 Indian states.