In its second foray into the Indian banking space, Australian banking group, ANZ is planning a roll out in three phases, over a period of four years. The bank plans to tap institutional banking, commercial banking and wealth management, according to CEO, Mr Michael Smith.

The bank, which opened its first branch in Mumbai in June, plans to open 25-30 branches during this period, subject to regulatory approvals.

The bank had exited its Indian operations in 2000 when it sold off its business in India, West Asia and other parts of South Asia to Standard Chartered Bank. In October last, it received a licence from the Reserve Bank of India to re-enter India.

Mr Smith said the bank is better placed to enter India now because its balance-sheet is strong and the quality of loan book is much better than earlier.

“Indian business is a very critical business for the group. Our focus would be to grow our client base in the next six months,'' he said at a press meet.

In the first phase of its roll out, ANZ plans to focus on institutional and corporate banking. In the second phase the focus would be on commercial banking and in the third phase on wealth management and the affluent retail segment.

ANZ is targeting about 25-30 per cent of its total income from the Asia Pacific region by 2017 and India would be among the top five Asian markets.

About the advantages of the presence of foreign banks in India through the subsidiary route, as suggested in the RBI's draft guidelines, Mr Smith said it is not a concern. ANZ already operates in many markets where it is been incorporated as a subsidiary. However, it may add a little bit to the cost as the subsidiary is rated below the parent and the parent can never guarantee a subsidiary.

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