HSBC, Barclays may take inorganic route to grow in India
March 10, 2008
Mumbai: At least two foreign lenders, Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation and Barclays, are likely to take the inorganic route to expand their Indian footprint either through acquisition of mid-sized banks or strategic tie-ups.
The country heads of both banks hinted at the possibility of acquisitions here, which would enable them to rapidly ramp up their presence in the country.
While HSBC India’s Country Head Naina Lal Kidwai said that the bank plans to explore the inorganic route to expand its presence in the country once it gets permission from the regulatory bodies, a top officials of Barclays said the bank may consider partnering with a local bank.
“We will be looking at the inorganic option to grow in India as and when the regulator permits it,” Kidwai said.
HSBC Bank with its 47 branches in India has a significant presence in the consumer finance segment. It is also rapidly scaling up its businesses in segments such as SME financing and trade finance and Foreign Institutional Investment custody business.
The bank, which has a 40 per cent market share in the custody business, had a credit-card customer base of 27-lakh as at end-December.
The bank will be implementing an aggressive expansion in retail as well, Kidwai said.
“We have a retail customer base of 24 lakh. We plan to enhance our focus on this segment in the coming years. We expect more business inflow, especially from the semi-urban centres,” she added.
(Source: Economictimes.com)
Comments
Got something to say?