As the U.S. financial system wobbles precariously, one bank that is cleaning up at home is also looking to expand in Asia. To spearhead its growth in India, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has recruited Kalpana Morparia , one of the country’s most senior bankers. Morparia, a former joint managing director of ICICI Bank, India’s second-largest financial institution, sees plenty of opportunity despite the credit crisis. “India is somewhat insulated from global volatility,” she tells Institutional Investor from Mumbai. Morparia, who joined JPMorgan last month, oversees the bank’s business in India, including 450 investment bankers as well as 11,000 back-office and customer service staff, who support the group’s global operations. The 59-year-old law graduate of Bombay University has also been charged with expanding the bank’s branches in India, from one to five, and doubling private equity investments, to $1 billion.
