Standard Chartered Bank is targeting wealth banking clients outside India’s top cities, says MD

Are you planning to add affluent banking centers in cities other than Tier I cities?

When we left 2024, we had nine thriving centers in India. We will have added eleven more over the course of 2025. By the end of 2025, our prosperous centers amounted to 20 within 98 branches. Our goal this year is to increase these affluent spaces by 15, leading to a total of 35 affluent centers. Historically, there has been a perception that foreign banks concentrate on four metros: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. But we are present in 41 cities through 98 branches. We are present in cities like Bhopal, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dehradun and in each of these cities our aim is to renovate and upgrade; creating large-format branches; ensure the space looks and feels conducive so that our target customers feel like they are at home when using our banking services or interacting with our relationship managers (RMs).

How many RMs do you have? How much will you add in 2026?

When we close this year, we aim to have 380 to 430 high-net-worth RMs in customer service. In the small and medium enterprises (SME) segment, we aim to emerge with 270-280 highly qualified RMs. So we are talking about a total of 700 RMs. We currently have approximately 600 RMs across the two segments.

You said that 1.25 lakh customers will be eligible for a new credit card product. How many do you want to have on board this year?

This particular Beyond card is a metal card. It has unlimited rewards points, access to lounges – both domestic and international – and has a host of lifestyle privileges. For example, you get access to two golf courses every month, transport to and from the airport and exclusive discounts at tailor-made restaurants, among other things. I really believe that given our offering, it’s something that a customer who’s already with us would like to sign up for. Plus, because it’s for qualified customers, there are no fees involved. We do not look at this card in itself, it is a relationship offer.

What is your pure-play retail strategy after selling your personal loan book to Kotak?

Today we relaunched our enhanced full-suite Priority Banking offering. We have made significant investments in highly skilled people, platforms including digital, processes, products and buildings. We call these the ‘five P’s’. The investments we are making demonstrate that we are here for good, evolving with the changing dynamic needs of the customer, and capable of delivering the best in the world. We do not focus on standalone products. Our way forward is to have multi-product customer relationships.