Crisis consultants in demand as regulatory run-ins rise

livemint.com:

Mumbai: The demand for ‘crisis consultants’ is on the rise, as companies scramble to address regulatory diktats, cybersecurity scares and climate events, according to consultants and lawyers who spoke with Mint. A person from a Big 4 consulting firm, who requested not to be named, said the firm is looking to have close to 2,000 people in its crisis team, more than double the current strength. Experts said that the time to resolve a crisis has shrunk from three-four weeks to a few days currently, as teams have access to AI and data solution methods for quick resolution.

“Crisis advisory is a crucial segment at GT Bharat, and we see significant potential in it," said Narendra Ganpule, partner and financial services consulting leader at Delhi-headquartered consulting firm Grant Thornton Bharat. He added that the firm has a team comprising professionals from different verticals of the firm that guides clients on recovering from crises and on addressing identified gaps. Grant Thornton Bharat was brought in by Kotak Mahindra Bank to plug gaps in its IT systems, months after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred it from onboarding new customers through its website and mobile app.

RBI had said in May that it will review the curbs following an external audit. Under governor Shaktikanta Das, RBI has taken a tough stance against non-compliance, taking on some of the biggest names in the financial services space. Apart from Kotak Mahindra Bank, founded by billionaire banker Uday Kotak, the regulator also cracked the whip on India’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank in December 2020 and consumer durables major Bajaj Finance in November 2023.