Vikram Pandit, who started Old Lane is moving over to Citigroup, which just announced job cuts of 17,000 people this week. So how much was the pay off for Vikram and Old Lane? A cool USD 800 million.
Old Lane which manages USD 4.5 billion was started 13 months back and employs some 125 traders, bankers and strategists. In the 12 months through February, Old Lane’s investments have returned 6.9%. Apparently, it’s focused on Indian opportunities. Right now anything Indian sells, but I’m guessing it’s not an Indian focused fund based on it’s performance numbers. Because, you can walk into any bank in India and get 10% for just showing up.
Bottom line, Citigroup didn’t buy the fund for it’s performance or regional focus it was for one reason only – Vikram Pandit.
On a side note the NY Times just published a piece about Big banks coming to India.
celestri - virtual home of manish jain 