ING Asia-Pacific head may lead India operations

Peter Smith, general manager for Asia Pacific in the ING group currently based in Hong Kong, may take over soon as overall head of all ING businesses in India -- banking, insurance and mutual fund. This is subject to corporate changes in ING and regulatory clearances in India. 
 
Smith is expected to play a coordinating role, dividing his time between India and Hong Kong, and the individual heads of businesses such as Bart Hellemans, managing director and CEO of ING Vysya Bank, will continue in their respective roles. 
 
The drivers for this move are several. Indian businesses of ING are growing in importance to the Dutch group. The group, which emerged in the international league during the nineties through inorganic growth, is now standardising

its international management practices. 
 
Also the transformation of ING Vysya Bank, which was earlier Vysya Bank, from a traditional private bank to a modern one has gone apace and the organisation is now in a position to align itself with the group's international practices. 
 
In what may be a related development, V Raghunathan, president, ING Vysya Bank, has announced his departure. The former IIM Ahmedabad professor said while he played a role in the management initiatives which had been taken from 2001 by the then Vysya Bank, the coming round of changes would require top management positions to be manned by banking professionals. 
 
For his next assignment, Raghunathan will be choosing between a corporate role and teaching in Europe.