Even as Barclays has agreed to buy Lehman's US unit, the fate of its India unit remains uncertain. Lehman's India operations employ around 2,500 people, most of who are in its BPO unit. Barclays has said that it could look at acquiring more of Lehman Brothers' businesses in Europe or Asia and is still evaluating the options. Also according to a report, Wipro and Copal Partners have expressed their interest in acquiring Lehman's BPO in India.
Wipro and Copal might want to hurry before the employees start leaving Lehman for other companies. Wipro might look at this segment specially as it is not particularly strong in the BFSI sector. Also the employees of Lehman BPO have been asked to leave by end of this month and the unit is expected to be closed by end of this month. Meanwhile Barclays has been increasing its focus in India, especially in the private banking segment. It might look at getting people from Lehman in this segment.
RBI Curbs Lehman India Operations
The central bank has said that Lehman would need the prior approval of the RBI before contracting any direct or indirect liability from any institution in or outside India or before making any foreign currency remittances.
The RBI has also said that Lehman Brothers Fixed Income Securities Private Ltd, a primary dealer, cannot declare any interim dividend or remit any amount to its holding company or any other group company without its prior approval. The primary dealer is also not to undertake transactions in government securities in the primary market.