Ramesh Gelli

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Ramesh Gelli is an Indian banking executive who served as the chairman and managing director (CMD) of Vysya Bank and was a promoter and CMD of the troubled Global Trust Bank.

Gelli is an engineering graduate from Osmania University and holds a degree in management from the Asian Institute of Management where he topped in his class. He worked at the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited before being appointed general manager at Vysya Bank in 1980. Three years later, he was elevated to the position of CMD of Vysya Bank. He was awarded the Padmashri by the Government of India in 1990, the first banking executive to have received the honour.

He was the chairman of the Board of Governors of Bharatidasan Institute of Management in the late 1990's.

Gelli set up GTB in 1993 along with Jayant Madhab, a top official of the Asian Development Bank. In 2001, Gelli was removed from his position of CMD of GTB and later from its board by India's banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) following a failed merger attempt. In 2004, GTB operations were halted by the RBI as GTB had accumulated non-performing assets in excess of permissible levels and its net worth turned negative, amidst accusations of mismanagement and reckless lending practices. GTB was then merged with the Oriental Bank of Commerce by the regulator.