For the past two decades, the Canadian billionaire has been working towards building a conglomerate in the country, and there’s no stopping him.
In 2018, Prem Watsa, the Indian-born Canadian billionaire, became the first-ever foreign promoter to gain a controlling stake in an Indian bank. His Fairfax India Holdings acquired 51% of Thrissur-headquartered CSB Bank, a century-old private lender that was deep in the red at the time.
Under Fairfax, an insurance and asset management conglomerate, the bank pulled off a turnaround, delivering profits and cleaning up its loan book. Now, Watsa has his eye on government-controlled IDBI Bank.
Finance ministry officials have held preliminary talks with Toronto-based Fairfax and other bidders, The Economic Times reported last week. A deal could involve the …
Ashwin covered fintech and banking at The Morning Context. Previously, he was at The Economic Times, where he worked across the finance, tech and startup verticals, breaking stories related to India’s banking system, startups in the new economy, digital payments, insurance and cryptocurrencies.
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ashwin@mailtmc.com
Delhi