Sarasin Alpen (India) Private, a subsidiary of the Basel-headquartered private bank Bank Sarasin & Co, has appointed Shiv Khazanchi to head its Indian operations.

As new managing director, Khazanchi will be based at Sarasin Alpen’s New Delhi office.

In addition to heading Sarasin Alpen India, Khazanchi will also oversee the operations of Alpen Capital India Private, the firm’s investment banking arm.

Before joining the firm, he was a managing director and global head of the global Indian business at Standard Chartered, based in London.

Prior to that, he was based in India, heading the India operations of The Standard Chartered Private Bank.

"India is a high priority market for the Sarasin Group and as such nothing is more important than securing best-in-class leadership for our operations there," said Fidelis Goetz, head of private banking at Bank Sarasin & Co.

"The appointment of Shiv Khazanchi to steer our India operations signals the strength of our commitment to India and will enable us to strengthen further our position in the country."

Sarasin Alpen launched in India in mid-2009 with offices in Mumbai and New Delhi.