Mumbai 21 November 2016: The State Bank of Mauritius (SBM) Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Siby Sebastian as Chief Executive - SBM India Operations. Siby will be responsible for developing and managing the State Bank of Mauritius Group’s operations in India.
In line with its strategic goal of international diversification, the SBM Group set up presence in India in 1994 and currently operates 4 branches in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ramachandrapuram. One of the reasons for SBM to start its international footprint in India is because of the strong links that exist between these two countries with around three-quarters of the Mauritian population being of Indian origin. SBM Group is involved, amongst others, in the financing of trade and investment both in Indian rupees and in foreign currency through Indian operations as well as through the headquarter in Mauritius.
Siby Sebastian appointed as CEO of SBM Bank (Mauritius) Ltd, India
“India is a key component of the SBM Group’s medium term strategy” says Raj Dussoye, Chief Executive, Banking of SBM Group. India is an important destination for tertiary education for Mauriatian students and is among the main trade partners of Mauritius. Visits of key state officials as well as assistance in various areas between these two countries are common. Mauritius, for its part, represents the principal source of FDI inflows into India. Siby is strategic, yet detail oriented; techno savvy and has the ability to nurture high-performing teams. “He is perfectly placed to seize the huge opportunities we see in India and we are confident that he will help to strengthen our franchise and grow our footprint in India.”
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Siby Sebastian said: “excited to come on-board of SBM at this juncture. My task is to improve the current growth rate with excellent portfolio quality, while preparing the organisation for the future.” Mr. Siby Sebastian brings over 20 years of experience across Banking and Financial Service Business. He is a Chartered Accountant and joins SBM Group from ICICI Bank. He has served in other prominent entities like ICICI Housing Finance Company, Kotak Mahindra Prime and Deloitte Haskins & Sells. Siby brings outstanding experience from his 15 years in ICICI Group, having led teams in Retail banking, Mortgage finance, Cards as well as building up ICICI’s Rural and Agri-finance offering. In ICICI Housing Finance Company, Siby worked as the Head of Operations, Technology & Customer service.
“The appointment of Mr. Siby Sebastian fits with SBM Group’s strategy to develop its presence in India. We have been present here over the last twenty two years and we now have sought for an RBI approval to set up a wholly owned subsidiary, which will allow us to expand our branch network and, thus, have a strong and broad customer base. We have embarked on an avant-garde IT Transformation Project with the objective to replace the existing technology which can provide enhanced on-line integrated services to our customers. We would start the implementation of the India Expansion Strategy once our systems are live, by beginning of 2017. We have now set ourselves the ambitious yet realisable objective of augmenting our offerings to Indian businesses. India has always been very close to Mauritius and offers tremendous opportunities for both learning and growth. At SBM we would like to position ourselves as a leading international integrated financial services provider, through better understanding of our clients' needs, intelligent offerings, enhanced level of service in India and using Mauritius as a gateway. Siby will work closely with the Mauritius team in achieving these objectives”, commented Mr Raj Dussoye, Chief Executive, Banking of SBM Group
Siby has joined the Bank on November 1, 2016 based in Mumbai and reports to Raj Dussoye, Chief Executive, SBM.