The Hindu Business Line : HSBC awaits nod for 30 branches, 50 ATMs

Hyderabad April 9 Banking and financial solutions provider, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd (HSBC), is awaiting Government and Reserve Bank of India nod to expand its footprint in India through more branches and ATMs.

The Head, Personal Financial Services, India, Mr Nicholas G. Winsor, said that HSBC, which has 47 branches and about 160 ATMs in 26 cities, has applied for about 30 new branches and some 50 ATMs across the country, with a good chunk of them in the South India.

"We are awaiting RBI clearance and expect it could happen anytime. In the past, clearances were accorded during the February-April time frame. The new branches would be in some of the cities we are already present as well as in some tier-II centres. In the last two years, we have added Raipur, Jodhpur, Lucknow, Mysore and Patna to our list," he said.

Speaking to newspersons at their recently commissioned facility here on Monday, Mr Winsor said HSBC is witness to robust growth in the retail business, covering personal loans and credit cards, and the new network of branches and ATMs would further help consolidate its presence in the country.

"The domestic market is extremely under-penetrated, and this can go only one way, that is up. The bank has experienced a growth of over 40 per cent over the past two years and over 50 per cent in 2006, and we expect this trend to continue as we reach out to new markets," he said.

Mr Winsor said India is a very important part of the HSBC group strategy. Apart from banking and financial services operations, the global data processing and software development centres are playing a vital role for the bank. Support and software operations in Hyderabad employ about 10,000 people.

Financial inclusion

Referring to some of the initiatives for financial inclusion, Mr Winsor said that HSBC Pragati Finance, launched in India in November 2006, offers loans ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 with a tenor of 12 to 48 months, to people who would not otherwise have access to these loans.

The bank has partnered with about eight Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) in the country, investing Rs 35 crore, and expects to step this up further.

The bank said the Mandesi Women Cooperative Bank is building a Rural Business School for Women and that Seva in Gujarat is setting up training centres.