Investment banks hunt regulatory talent to capture India's IPO mandates
As India cements its status as the world's busiest IPO market, investment banks are aggressively recruiting local regulatory experts to secure lucrative primary underwriting mandates and escape lower-margin syndication roles.
Investment banks and boutique advisory firms are aggressively recruiting local regulatory experts in Mumbai to capture primary underwriting mandates in India's booming initial public offering market. Firms including Avendus Capital, Moelis & Co, Rothschild & Co, Societe Generale SA and BNP Paribas SA are expanding their equity capital market teams to build specialized compliance capabilities.
The talent hunt centers on left-lead bookrunning managers who interact directly with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. These professionals prepare draft red herring prospectuses, handle legal correspondence, represent issuers during regulatory query sessions and ultimately value the offers.
"Issuers prioritize the bank that manages the regulatory process directly with Sebi," said a senior banker at a foreign institution. "Sub-syndication roles carry lower fee margins, and so we are looking to establish a domestic execution desk to win primary mandates."
Currently, bulge bracket banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley dominate these left-lead positions alongside major domestic bank merchant arms. Because merchant banking operates with lean teams, rivals are typically poaching two or three top executives from competing banks to establish a new domestic execution desk.
Mizuho-backed Avendus Capital plans to add three or four professionals to its 10-member equity capital market team over the next six months. "Drafting filing documents and responding to regulatory queries requires dedicated personnel on the ground who have prior experience dealing with Sebi queries," said Gaurav Sood, Avendus managing director and head of equity capital markets.
A unit of Nithin Kamath's Zerodha Broking Ltd secured a merchant banking licence on 2 September and is expanding its six-person core team to hire left-lead bankers. Meanwhile, the Neo Group recently hired veteran banker Vikas Khattar to lead its investment banking business as it expands its merchant banking suite.
"Left-lead capabilities are becoming an increasingly important consideration for clients when selecting investment banks," said Ruchi Thakkar, an associate partner at executive hiring firm Native. She noted that a strong execution team acts as a deal puller and serves as a key differentiator for platforms scaling their franchises.
This hiring spree coincides with sustained activity in the world's busiest primary equity market. As of early September, Indian companies sold ₹75,000 crore across 58 mainboard IPOs. SBI Funds Management Ltd and Manipal Health Enterprises Ltd led the volume in what is projected to be another record year for stock market debuts.
