CFO PROFILE - CFO Korea First Bank, Ranvir Dewan

In 1999, Newbridge Capital, a US-based private equity firm, acquired a 48.5% stake in Korea First Bank. The bank was reeling from the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, having taken heavy losses caused by a slew of corporate defaults, forcing it into insolvency. Seven years on KFB is one of the better performing banks in Korea and HSBC is eyeing to buy it from Newbridge. It has one of the lowest NPL ratios in the country, and a rapidly growing retail-finance business. Asiamoney talks with KFB's CFO, Ranvir Dewan, about how the bank has successfully navigated the stream of economic challenges that Korean banks must contend with.