Book Review | The Banker Who Crushed His Diamonds

Rana Kapoor, who went to become the MD & CEO of YES Bank had begun his banking career as a management trainee with Bank of America. ‘The Banker Who Crushed His Diamonds’ takes you on the trajectory of his dramatic rise and equally dramatic fall, of family feuds and a sordid display of greed and hubris.

YES Bank’s headquarters in Mumbai’s One International Center is inarguably one of city’s premium business districts. This book uncovers the deep rot that once existed behind that glittering skyscraper.

When YES Bank got a new lease of life in March last year after the RBI and SBI took over, it was the third time in less than 15 months that the private lender’s top boss had been changed. What was brewing? The bank’s practice of reckless lending, frequent exposure to stressed companies and non-adherence to risk assessment metrics costed it dearly and brough to the fore, a cobweb of underlying issues that were plaguing India’s banking system.

Furquan has been one of the keenest watchers of YES Bank for a couple of years. His maiden book is the result of extensive research, data analysis, interviews with people associated with the bank, those who knew Kapoor well and those who were in the thick of things when it became ugly. The wealth of sources and access to insider information that he has makes the book unputdownable.

In 2018, then MD & CEO Rana Kapoor had declared that his diamonds are forever, referring to his promoter shares which were invaluable to him and this explains the book’s title.

The book’s only limitation (for me) is the usage of occasional jargon so those of you who aren’t adept at decoding financial vocabulary may want to Google a few things here and there. However, there is a takeaway for everyone. Those in the media, in policy-making, the banking sector and governance.

As senior business journalist, Andy Mukherjee has written in the foreword of the book, Rana would not be the last financier to behave badly, and it is with some hope that the book has been written. That people’s trust in the financial system would not be shattered in the way the YES Bank fiasco did.

Moharkan’s book is as much about the bank’s as it is about its ex-CEO’s questionable business practices. The 200-pages make up for an interesting, crisp read for anyone who wishes to know how inter-connected India’s financial system is. By drawing on his experience of being a former investment banker, Moharkan weaves his chapters with possible explanations of the meteoric fall of Rana Kapoor and YES Bank. Was it his arrogance, fixation with centralization of power, the way he smooth-talked with people? Read in to find out!