After launching its private bank there in July, HSBC hopes to boost personal banking in the country to cater to the rapidly expanding population of well-paid professionals, the company’s India CEO stated on Thursday.
According to Hitendra Dave, the company will offer digital credit cards and personal loans to wealthy clients in addition to wealth management services delivered by the new private bank.Although the bank has long operated a retail, or personal, banking division in India, Dave claimed that it has not made a concerted effort to expand it.
“What has changed in the last three years is that the target market for HSBC in India has exploded,” said Dave.“We intend to build a very large retail, or what we call a personal, banking business.”
Ultra high net worth clients—typically those with a net worth of over $30 million—are the focus of HSBC’s new private banking division in India, which is a component of the company’s broader focus on Asian wealth management. Beyond the wealthiest, HSBC will also target an increasing number of Indian professionals, whose incomes and purchasing power have increased dramatically in recent years, according to Dave.
In addition to mortgage loans, HSBC will introduce a “digital card issuance program” and a digital loan product “fairly soon” for this market. By 2027, there will be 1.65 million high-net-worth individuals, or those with assets valued at more than $1 million, more than doubling from 2022. More technology expenditures and branch network growth are part of the bank’s push toward retail banking, according to Dave. “We intend to build a profitable business,” stated the man.
After making a profit of $645 million last year, HSBC India recorded a profit before taxes of $766 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022.
The biggest contributors to the Indian business are commercial banking, global banking, and markets.
In the first half of 2023, HSBC India’s profit before tax was $45.6 million, or $35 million, from its wealth and personal banking sector, which covers asset management, mortgages, and private banking.
In order to capitalize on the possible surge in cross-border fundraising and merger activity as interest in the Indian economy grows globally, Dave stated that HSBC will expand its investment banking division, including through senior appointments.
He wouldn’t give specifics.
