Mavila Vishwanathan Nair (born 3 March 1952) is the Chairman of the Credit Information Bureau of India Limited, India's largest credit bureau and the Chairman of SWIFT India (The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication). He is also the Chairman of Banker's Quotient Learning Solutions Group and is an advisor to select private equity and venture capital funded companies in India.
Previously a banker, Nair was one of the longest serving chairmen in the history of Indian banking, having served as chairman and managing director of Union Bank of India for six years and Dena Bank for one year.
Early life and education
The second eldest of seven siblings. Nair was born in Kasaragod, Kerala, and grew up in Mangalore, Karnataka, graduating from St. Aloysius College, Mangalore. Later, he attended trainings at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Indian School of Business, Kellogg School of Management, and Harvard Business School.
Nair joined Corporation Bank as a probationary officer in 1973. He worked across Hyderabad, Gujarat, and Mangalore, and was then deputed to head one bank's largest branches in New Delhi.
Early success in middle management put Nair on the bank's fast track program. He subsequently went on to head the western and central region of the bank. Both the regions were the best performing regions of the bank during his tenure. After stints in the field, Nair was called on to set up a strategic business unit to boost fee based income and to position Corporation Bank as a leading player in corporate banking. Nair set up the Collection and Payment Services (CAPS) which created a market advantage for the bank and positioned it as a leading player in corporate banking in India.
Nair also headed various departments at the corporate office including CAPS, Human Resources (HR), and Risk Management.
He was subsequently elevated to Executive Director of Dena Bank.
Executive Director, subsequently chairman and managing director
Nair was promoted as Executive Director to Dena Bank when the bank was facing a severe challenge on the non-performing assets (NPA) front. He subsequently served as chairman and was with the bank for 2 years. Dena Bank is today one of the most successful turnaround stories in the Indian banking industry.
Chairman and managing director
Nair joined Union Bank of India as chairman and managing director. He is credited with a number of initiatives during his tenure there.
Increase in Business – When Nair joined Union Bank of India in 2006, the bank's business was Rs. 1,287 billion (US $29.61 bn). As of 30 September 2010 the bank's total business was over Rs. 4,000 billion (US $90 bn).
CBS (Core Banking Solutions) – Under Nair's leadership, Union Bank was the first large public sector bank which achieved 100% CBS, i.e., Core Banking Solutions was implemented across all branches in the bank.
Project Nav Nirman – In 2006, Nair initiated "Project Nav Nirman," transforming the bank into a customer-centric marketing organisation by leveraging technology, changing processes, and empowering people.
Overseas Banking – in 2007, Union Bank began its foray into the international scene by opening its first overseas branch, in Hong Kong. Subsequently, the bank has opened representative offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Beijing, Shanghai, Sydney, and London.
Joint Ventures: – The bank entered into the life insurance business through a joint venture with Bank of India and Dai Ichi Mutual Life Insurance Corp, Japan. The company, Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd., commenced operations in Feb 2009. The bank also entered into a JV with KBC Asset Management of Belgium, and set up an asset management company. This AMC is expected to commence operations in January 2011.
Human Resources – Nair emphasised large-scale recruitment, lowering the average age of employees and re-skilling the frontline staff through the Dale Carnegie Institute. He introduced fast-track career progression, and an in-house management development programme, a precursor to succession planning.
Brand Building – in 2008, the bank’s logo was successfully changed as part of the bank's brand building program. This resulted in the bank’s brand value increasing by 148% (2009).
Under Nair’s leadership, some of the socially important activities undertaken by the bank were:
103 villages in 4 different states were adopted for comprehensive development, mainly working as a catalyst in bringing initiatives from government and development agencies. The bank also supplemented development efforts through funding development projects like clean energy, drinking water facilities, and improvement of rural schools.
One female primary school child was adopted by the bank in each of these villages, with resources set aside for their upbringing and overall maintenance until they graduate high school.
Active support and fundraising were provided to the Cancer Patients / Aids Association, Mumbai for the last 10 years.
Support was provided to the Cochin Child Foundation with a grant of Rs. 600,000 for carrying out various initiatives for improving children's quality of life.
Support was provided to the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, popularly known for Jaipur Foot, with a grant of Rs. 1 million.
Nair was appointed Chairman of the Indian Banks’ Association for 2009–2010. During this period, as chairman of the wage negotiation committee, IBA successfully concluded the long pending bipartite settlement with the joint forum of unions.
M. V. Nair married Indu on 20 October 1983. They have a daughter, Vidhya and a son, Aditya.
Chairman, Credit Information Bureau of India Limited (CIBIL) (2011–present)
Chairman, Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) (2013–Present)
Chairman, Bankers' Quotient Academy (2013–Present)
Chairman, Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) (2009–2010)
Chairman, Wage Negotiation Committee, Indian Banks’ Association (2008–2010)
Member, Sub-Group on Financial Services under the High Level Group on Services Sector, constituted by Planning Commission, Government of India (2007–2008)
Member, Primary Markets Advisory Committee, set up by Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) (2009–2010)
Chairman,Committee on Priority Sector Lending constituted by Reserve Bank of India (2011–2012)
Chairman, Union KBC Asset Management Company (2010–2012)
Director, General Insurance Corporation (GIC) Re (2009–2012)
Member, Managing Committee, Indian Banks' Association (Mumbai)
Chairman of the Governing Board, Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) (2009–2012)
Vice-President of Indian Institute of Banking & Finance (IIBF) & Chairman of the its Executive Committee, (2008–2012)
Member, Governing Council of Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) established by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Government of India (2010–2012)
Member of the Governing Council, Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT)
Member, Governing Board, National Institute of Bank Management(NIBM) (2008–2012)
College Advisory Committee of Reserve Bank of India, College of Agricultural Banking, Pune
Chairman, Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) (2010–2012)
Member, Committee on Customer Services in Banks constituted by Reserve Bank of India (June 2010 – 2012)
Member, Study Group to examine various alternative models for establishing ICT based mobile banking service centres for inclusive banking in the country constituted by Planning Commission, Government of India (2009–2012)
Member, High Level Committee to deliberate emergent issues concerning global development in the country constituted by Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India (2010–2012)
Director, Agriculture Finance Corporation (AFC) Ltd (2006–2012)
Member, Committee to monitory flow of dollar Export Credit to Exporters constituted by Government of India (2009–2012)
Ex Officio Member, Board of Trustees, CGTMSE (Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises) (2009–2010)
Member, National Board of Accreditation, All India Council for Technical Education (2008–2010).
Member, Committee for conducting study of HR issues of Public Sector Banks constituted by Ministry of Finance, Government of India (2009–2010)
Member, High Powered Committee to review the Lead bank Scheme, set up by Reserve Bank of India (2007–2009)
World Economic Forum, Inaugural meeting of the New Champions at Dalian, China, 2007
SIBOS 2006 (Sydney, Australia), 2007 (Boston, USA), 2008 (Vienna, Austria, 2010 (Toronto, Canada)
Annual Meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, Istanbul, Turkey (2009)
Workshop on Promoting Financial Inclusion through Innovative Policies, organised by Asian Development Bank, Tokyo (Japan) (2009)
Speaker, "Growing role of Asia in the financial stage", Asia Europe Business Forum (AEBF) at Brussels, Belgium (2010)
1st international conference of overseas offices, Hong Kong
Addressed HK Invest conference in Hong Kong in Sept'10 – Speakers included Chief Executive of Hong Kong.
Addressed members of the Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong in Sept'10 on Current state of Banking Sector in India and its future
Awards and accolades
Best Manager Award, Indian Management Association (IMA) (1984)
Best Corporate Excellence Award, IIM- Ahmedabad (2000)
Finalist, Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year, 2008”
Global Award 2008, Kerala Kalakendram
Winner of Skoch Challenger Award in Banking for relentlessly pursuing financial inclusion goals and driving branchless banking to penetrate banking services into the hinterland – (March 2010)
Certificate of recognition by ICSI (Institute of Company Secretaries of India) as National Award for excellence in Corporate Governance for adopting good Corporate Governance practices (December 2010).
