Standard Charted Bank opens its first international centre in Mumbai for the affluent

In a bid to cater to the changing needs of affluent Indians, Standard Charted Bank has opened its first specialised international centre for the wealthy in Mumbai. It plans to open such centres in the top 6 cities, followed by 10 small cities like Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Indore, and Bhopal, to name a few. Through this, the bank aims to target 750,000 wealthy Indian clients, both resident and non-resident, who are looking to manage their wealth and banking needs worldwide.

Rajesh Kannan, Managing Director, Head of Global Indian, Wealth, and Retail Banking UAE, Jersey (UK), Standard Chartered Bank, said, “As part of our refreshed global Indian proposition, we want to provide an international gateway to growing affluent Indians by leveraging our wealth centres in Hong Kong, Singapore, Jersey, and the UAE. We plan to combine this with our deep understanding of markets in India and offer both local and global banking, cross-border wealth management, and lending solutions to these individuals.”

This shift in strategy comes after the bank recently sold its unsecured personal loan book worth Rs 4,100 crore to Kotak Mahindra Bank. But the bank maintains this exit was a part of the divestment of a small portfolio. It ruled out the fact that with this new strategy it will digress from the mass market segment in retail banking.

As per this strategy focusing on affluent, the bank plans to expand its footprint to the affluent, small and medium enterprises (SME) and wealth space and double it in the coming time, says Aditya Mandloi, Managing Director of Wealth and Retail Banking, India & South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank.

To manage the affluent, the bank aims to increase its wealth managers who specialise in handling the wealthy from 810 to 950 by the end of 2025. As of now, the bank’s 60% wealth managers are in the top 6 cities, which they plan to extend to other small cities. By creating such international centres with dedicated wealth managers, the bank wants to link international corridors, provide seamless service to its clients, and give a global view on financial solutions.

The bank currently has 100 branches across 19 states and 42 cities and is slated to open a centre for the affluent in Chennai on November 11, 2024.