DBS Bank has appointed Prakash Jaiswal as Managing Director and India Head of SME Banking, effective March 2026. Based in Mumbai, he will lead the bank’s strategy to expand and deepen its small and medium enterprise (SME) franchise in one of its key growth markets.
In this role, He will be responsible for driving business growth, strengthening market penetration, and accelerating the digital transformation of DBS’s SME banking operations in India. His mandate includes enhancing the bank’s value proposition for mid-sized and emerging businesses through innovative solutions across lending, trade finance, and cash management. A key focus area will be leveraging DBS’s strong digital capabilities to deliver efficient, scalable and customer-centric financial services to India’s rapidly evolving SME ecosystem.
Prakash brings over 26 years of experience in corporate and commercial banking, with a deep understanding of the Indian financial services landscape. Prior to joining DBS Bank, he served as President and Head of Corporate Banking at SBM Bank (India). He has also held senior leadership positions at HSBC, where he spent more than 14 years and rose to become Managing Director and Country Head of Business Banking (SME). His earlier career includes key roles at Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, and the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank), giving him a broad-based perspective across domestic and international banking environments.
His expertise spans mid-market enterprise strategy, structured lending, and financial crime risk remediation. As a Chartered Accountant, he combines technical financial acumen with strategic leadership experience, positioning him to lead DBS’s SME banking ambitions in a competitive and rapidly digitising market.
Commenting on his appointment, he said that the role represents a return to his core interest in supporting SMEs and startups, which he described as the backbone of India’s economic growth. He expressed enthusiasm about building and scaling the business, and working closely with his team to strengthen DBS Bank’s presence in the segment.
The appointment comes at a time when India’s SME sector is undergoing significant transformation, driven by digital adoption, formalisation and increasing integration with global supply chains. DBS Bank’s focus on strengthening its SME leadership signals its intent to play a larger role in enabling growth, improving access to finance and supporting the next phase of India’s enterprise expansion.
From a RiskAwareness perspective, as banks scale SME lending through digital and structured frameworks, risk assessment, compliance and financial transparency will become sharper differentiators for credit access. For SMEs, the shift signals tighter scrutiny alongside opportunity, where growth will increasingly depend on governance strength and data-backed credibility.
