Why Indian retail banking is a ‘nice oasis’ for Deutsche and HSBC

Outsized returns in India, besting local lenders for the first time in a decade, are emboldening banks such as Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and HSBC to invest more in a market that has long held promise but tended to under-deliver.

Easing regulations and a surge in online banking are driving the change, with several overseas lenders increasing investment plans for the country to win affluent clients away from domestic rivals, senior bankers told Reuters.

Digital banking services

Improved performance in India and its basis in the take-up of digital retail banking services could also offer hope for other large markets with potential far greater than the profit so far delivered, such as China.

“With transaction banking going very strong and retail banking picking up pace, a lot of foreign banks globally are now focussing on India and registering better performance,” said Sanjoy Datta, Deloitte India financial services practice head.

“It may pose some challenges as banks plan to expand more into the tier-two towns, but overall, foreign banks in India will continue to grow as there are no imminent (industry-specific) challenges,” he said, pointing to technology as a key enabler.

Lured by a massive economy and rising middle-class income, more than three dozen foreign lenders in India have been vying for a bigger share of the market for decades – yet they account for just 6 per cent of the banking assets.

Regulatory changes

Aiding the latest growth spurt is regulatory easing in support of technological financial services. For instance, the central bank in August allowed banks – under a regulatory sandbox framework – to launch products and services such as digital customer background checks and money transfer.

Moreover, services such as digital payments have been growing rapidly, led by a government push to bring more cash-loving merchants and consumers into the formal economy. Taking advantages of such developments, foreign banks’ annualised return on equity (ROE) in India rose to 9.9 per cent in the six months to September-end, from 6.9 per cent a year earlier, central bank data showed. That beat the 6.1 per cent of domestic private lenders for a second consecutive half-yearly period for the first time since the global financial crisis.

At the same time, local private and state-backed banks are increasingly constrained by souring loans, low levels of capital, and governance issues at the biggest players – all in a slowing economy.

“In the next five years, foreign banks, along with private lenders, will have an opportunity to grow as state-owned banks are losing market share due to capital constraints and shift in focus to consolidation,” said Ashvin Parekh, an independent financial services consultant.

Tech boom

The rapid adoption of technology – for processing payments, acquiring customers and selling products – is the real driver of foreign lenders’ success, bankers and analysts said. “It has become a little bit more of a level-playing field and it is up to your digital strategies and your digital capabilities,” said Ramakrishnan S, the head of HSBC’s India retail banking and wealth management. “Frankly speaking, there is no reason why we should not grow as much as anybody else.”

HSBC’s pre-tax profit from its India retail and wealth management unit more than doubled to a record $48 million last year. While small compared with the $6.6 billion it made in its home market of Hong Kong, the figure contrasted sharply with HSBC’s $74-million loss in China.

The Asia-focussed lender, which intends to double spending on technology and marketing in the coming three years, aims to double profit again over the next three to five years, said Ramakrishnan.

All this even after it cut its number of bricks-and-mortar branches to focus on its digital presence, and in the face of a new regulation giving foreign lenders greater freedom to expand branch networks if they convert them into local subsidiaries.

Previously, the central bank limited the number of branches foreign lenders could open, which western bankers said was a major source of frustration.

US rival Citi launched a wealth management app in January 2019, which allows clients to open investment accounts instantly and without having to visit a branch. Last year, it saw double-digit growth in affluent clients, its target market.

Even Deutsche Bank, which laid off 18,000 staff globally in July as part of broader restructuring, is enjoying a boom in India, home to its only retail business outside Europe. Two years ago the bank considered selling the unit, but now sees it as a ‘nice oasis’, said Kaushik Shaparia, head of the German lender’s India operations.

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