Fairfax-controlled IIFL Capital Services Ltd. Has hired four senior private bankers from Barclays Plc to target ultra-high-net-worth families, business promoters and non-resident Indians, the company said on Monday.
Neeraj Pandey, Subir Didwania, Kunal Kapadia and Vivek Makim have joined IIFL Capital’s wealth unit as senior executives. The team will lead the expansion of its domestic wealth business and its Global Indian division, which manages cross-border assets for Indian families.
Pandey will anchor the Global Indian business after spending more than seven years at Barclays leading a team focused on high-net-worth individuals and family offices.
Where the Team Lands
Didwania spent two decades at Barclays, most recently as a director overseeing corporate and family office relationships. Kapadia previously worked at Citibank, Deutsche Bank and Edelweiss before joining Barclays, while Makim spent 10 years at Barclays Private Bank India after stints at DSP Merrill Lynch and HSBC Private Bank.
“Talent is the ultimate differentiator in financial services. By welcoming experienced private banking professionals to IIFL Capital, we are strengthening our capabilities, deepening client relationships, and accelerating our growth ambitions,” joint chief executive Prakash Bulusu told Mint .
The Battle for Indian Balance Sheets
Domestic non-bank wealth managers in India are systematically stripping talent from European lenders whose headquarters are cutting costs. Global lenders including Barclays, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Mizuho have announced over 35,000 job reductions globally since October last year as automation programmes reduce staff numbers. Barclays itself initiated plans to cut 5,000 jobs, or 5 percent of its global headcount.
That pressure gives capitalized local platforms room to pick off experienced relationship managers holding tight ties to Indian family promoters. The battle lines are clear: multinational banks offer institutional balance sheets, but domestic Indian firms offer higher advisory discretion, equity incentives, and faster turnaround on local deal pipelines.
Scale and Ownership Shifts
Revenue from wealth management and financial product distribution at IIFL Capital rose 12 percent year-on-year to Rs 572 crore, based on the firm’s 2026 annual report. The division generated nearly 22 percent of total company revenue.
The current recruitment push started taking shape in June 2024. At that time, IIFL Capital brought in former Citibank bankers Raghav Gupta and Prakash Bulusu as joint chief executives of the wealth arm, adding Amit Srivastava as senior managing partner for investments.
Control of the underlying firm shifted in May. The board cleared a Rs 2,000 crore preferential equity issue to Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd at Rs 350 per share, giving Fairfax outright control of the business.
What to Watch Next
Founder Nirmal Jain outlined a plan in March to expand assets under management from Rs 60,000 crore at the end of fiscal 2026 by 80 to 100 percent over two years. Having added roughly 60 relationship managers over 18 months, management intends to hire another 120 advisers.
The next corporate milestone rests on Fairfax Financial. The Canadian group intends to fold IIFL Capital under a wholly owned subsidiary once it finalizes its proposed Rs 52,878 crore buyout of IDBI Bank Ltd.
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