Implicit coverage
BNP Paribas Wealth Management
Ran a named NRI desk for a decade (2012-2021) — now the sector's quiet talent donor, its bankers rebuilding rivals' franchises.
Dedicated NRI team
—
Strategy tenure
named NRI desk since 2012; no visible build since the 2021 Chauhan appointment
India onshore arc
Never onshore
Hubs
Singapore, Hong Kong
BNP Paribas Wealth Management was an early, committed NRI operator: it ran a named non-resident-Indian desk out of Hong Kong and Singapore for the best part of a decade, appointing a Head of NRI for North Asia in 2012 (Akshay Jaitly), a Head of NRI clients for Asia Pacific in 2018 (Vikas Jaidka, whose CEO called the segment 'clearly a growth area'), and a Singapore-based NRI market head in 2021 (Aditya Chauhan, from Credit Suisse). Since 2021, however, no NRI-desk expansion has been visible in the 2023-2026 arms race — and BNP Paribas has instead become a talent donor to the firms that are building: its 2018 NRI head Vikas Jaidka now runs DBS Private Bank's Middle East/Africa/NRI region, and its long-serving NRI banker Tarang Garde left to head Citi Private Bank's NRI desk in Singapore in early 2026. The dedicated model exists on paper; the momentum has moved to its competitors.
Why it matters
BNP Paribas is the cautionary tale of the NRI corridor: it recognised the segment a decade before the current gold rush and staffed a named desk across three appointments (2012, 2018, 2021), yet let the franchise idle exactly as the 2023-2026 arms race began — and then watched its own talent leave to build the competition. Its 2018 NRI head now runs DBS's NRI region; its veteran NRI banker now runs Citi's NRI desk. First-mover recognition without sustained investment has turned BNP Paribas from an NRI pioneer into a supplier of the bankers other firms are winning with.
The journey
Aditya Chauhan hired from Credit Suisse as NRI market head, Singapore
BNP Paribas Wealth Management appointed Aditya Chauhan as market head for non-resident Indians (NRI), based in Singapore and overseeing all NRI bankers in the city-state and Hong Kong. He joined from Credit Suisse and was expected to bring a team — the last visible expansion of BNP Paribas's dedicated NRI coverage before the segment went quiet in the 2023-2026 build-out.
Vikas Jaidka named Head of NRI clients for Asia Pacific; CEO calls NRI 'a growth area'
BNP Paribas Wealth Management appointed Vikas Jaidka as head of non-resident Indian (NRI) clients for Asia Pacific, leading its NRI teams in Hong Kong and Singapore and reporting to Samir Bimal, head of Indian markets. Jaidka joined from Citibank, where he had built the NRI business across APAC, the UK, UAE and Africa. Pierre Vrielinck, CEO of BNP Paribas Wealth Management Asia Pacific, called the NRI segment 'clearly a growth area' for the business in Asia.
BNP Paribas WM names a Head of NRI for North Asia in Hong Kong
Akshay Jaitly was appointed Head of non-resident Indians for North Asia, based in Hong Kong, reporting to Stephane Honig, head of Indian markets for BNP Paribas Wealth Management. He was to lead a team of relationship managers dedicated to Indian clients in North Asia — the first marker of BNP Paribas's named NRI franchise.
Connections
3 sources · all linked
Retail News Asia (26 Jul 2021) · Private Banker International (28 Mar 2018) · WealthBriefingAsia (11 Apr 2012)