Standard Chartered set to become India’s first foreign bank to set up a regional subsidiary
Standard Chartered is set to become the first major foreign bank to set up a subsidiary in India.
The Financial Times has reported that the London-based bank is the only one of India's three big foreign lenders – the others are HSBC and Citigroup – to agree to regulatory changes requesting foreign banks set up subsidiary companies.
India is Standard Chartered's third largest market, accounting for eight per cent of global operating income last year. It has operated in India since 1858 and has 100 branches there.
HSBC has previously said it will “evaluate” the option, while Citi has ruled it out.
The bank is heavily focused on Asian markets, and new chief executive Bill Winters said in June he was planning a structural shake-up to hand more power over to the regional hubs, including Singapore, Hong Kong and India.
Winter's plan is to deliver some $1.8bn (£1.2bn) of savings by the end of 2017 to offset slowing emerging markets.
This includes streamlining the regional structure, reducing the number of regions from eight to four: Greater China and north Asia, Southeast and South Asia, Africa and the Middle East and Europe and the Americas.
Over the last two years the emerging markets bank has issued a number of profit warnings and over the summer its share price fell to its lowest level in a year.
Standard Chartered declined to comment.