Chapter 1C: In 1987 whilst in college, I got a modelling assignment. The product was the Diners Card. Billboards around the country had a line image of myself with a chemical plant in the background advertising Diners Card as the de facto card for industrialists. The original photo was shot at Excel industries in Jogeshwari. As part of the mandate, I received a Diners Card. I was also given a tour of the Citibank computer centre in Mumbai and introduced to Victor Menezes who was then global head of technology at Citibank. On learning that I had grown up in an oil refinery, Victor (who had occupied the same room in the same hostel that I had in IIT Bombay) introduced me to Dhirubhai Ambani who wanted to build an oil refinery. Dhirubhai invited me home for dinner. It was more a party than a dinner. Falguni Pathak was singing.
And that is when I first met Deepak Parekh. Hob knobbing with all who mattered. Nimesh Kampani, Ashok Advani, Uday Kotak, the Piramals, the Ambani kids … basically the entire South Bombay cliche. He was one of them. And the only one who didn’t own the business. But then, business owners had liabilities – he had none.
Years later, Dr Manmohan Singh, then Finance Minister once called me to his office to meet an important global banker. This was my second meeting with Victor Menezes. He was looking for someone who would act as a front partner to get a banking license. This was 1992. I was then actively involved with reform. The Narasimhan Committee (world bank stooge), the disinvestment plan, liberalisation of telecom services, foreign entry in power etc. We were bankrupt as a country. On our knees. Citibank, IFC, World Bank were dictating terms. Dr Singh himself was a staunch supporter of the American model of capitalism.
Victor shared a IIT IIT bonhomie with me. My IIT Director Prof Nag wanted to set up India’s first private sector R&D company. I was on the Board. Victor introduced us to Motorola. They were building India’s first cellular network for Delhi. Sterling Cellular was the Client. Satyam Computers was behind it. It was a big break for this young startup. I was thankful to Victor.
Victor met me again. For a discussion on how he could get a banking license using some front entity who would be his proxy. He tried Reliance who declined. Then Birlas – but they were busy on telecom and a AT&T partnership.
The banking license conditions were onerous. A foreign bank could only own 5%. But Citibank wanted 100% control.
The Americans always figure out a way to do business. The core business of Citibank was moving money. Some as per Indian laws. Rest as per their own. And there was a lot of demand for the latter. Politicians, corrupt bureaucrats, business houses … all wanted to keep money abroad and in dollars. And two banks owned this market.
Anyway, the next thing I knew.
HDFC had got a banking license
And Citibank had got control.
It was 1994.
