The Hindu Business Line : StanChart launches private banking services

GLOBAL COVERAGE: (From left) Mr Peter Flavel, Global Head-Private Banking, Mr Shiv Khazanchi, MD & Head-Private Banking, India, and Mr Murali M. Natarajan, Regional Head-Consumer Banking, India & Nepal, Standard Chartered Bank, at a press conference in Mumbai. — Shashi Ashiwal

Mumbai June 15 Standard Chartered Bank has launched private banking services in India. The focus will be on high networth individuals who have $1 million (around Rs 4 crore) and above of investible wealth.

"We will begin private banking operations in Mumbai and Delhi and eventually expand to Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad by the end of next year," said Mr Shiv Khazanchi, Managing Director and Head, Private Banking, India, Standard Chartered Bank. "We want to be present in the six major cities by the end of 2008," he said.

Around 200 of the bank's existing clients will migrate from consumer banking to private banking. "We hope to have 1,000 private banking clients by the end of next year," Mr Khazanchi added.

Standard Chartered Bank hopes to tap its existing wholesale bank, small and medium enterprises and high networth base.

Open architecture

The bank will work with an open architecture platform, which means that unlike other banks, there will not be any internal fund manager.

Standard Chartered Bank will have access to several fund managers and products, and invest in various asset classes through its 30 distribution tie-ups. Investments will mainly be made in equity mutual funds, fixed income mutual funds and real estate mutual funds.

Relationship managers

The bank currently has 25 relationship managers who will offer advisory services based on the risk appetite and the financial goals of the investor. The relationship managers will be doubled to 50 by the end of next year, said bank officials.

Mr Murali Natarajan, Regional Head, Consumer Banking, India and Nepal, Standard Chartered Bank, said that under wealth management the bank had Rs 10,000 crore of assets which has been growing at 25 per cent over the last three years.

He estimated that there are around 1-lakh high networth individuals in India and the number is growing at 20 per cent.

Mr Peter Flavel, Global Head, Private Banking, said the bank was simultaneously launching private banking services in 10 global markets namely Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Dubai, London, Jersey, Mumbai and New Delhi.

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