Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 28: HSBC plans to grow its India network from 34 to 46 branches. The push targets affluent clients in smaller cities. Its pitch rests on cross-border banking as domestic rivals scale up.*
India’s new wealth is no longer confined to its biggest metros. HSBC India is now following that money into smaller cities.
The lender plans to expand from 34 branches to 46 over two years. The enlarged network will cover 34 cities. That marks a branch increase of roughly 35%.
Hitendra Dave, HSBC’s India chief executive, points to rising wealth in smaller centres. “We are building a wealth franchise beyond India’s metro cities,” he said.
Selling “globality”
Dave calls HSBC’s key differentiator “globality”. The idea uses HSBC’s international network to serve clients whose finances span borders.
Dave says the next generation of Indian wealth is increasingly global. More Indians study and work overseas, build international businesses or invest globally.
HSBC’s private bank generally serves clients with at least $2 million in investable assets. Its wider affluent strategy, however, reaches beyond that threshold.
Group Chief Executive Georges Elhedery has said HSBC plans to invest more in India. Affluent customers are a growing focus of that push.
A crowded field
HSBC now faces larger domestic rivals, including ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Domestic banks are steadily scaling up their wealth management operations. Firms founded by senior bankers are also chasing clients and talent. That rivalry has pushed relationship-manager pay to record highs.
Among foreign lenders, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Barclays are expanding wealth businesses. Others have retreated. Citigroup sold its Indian consumer banking unit to Axis Bank. Kotak agreed this year to buy Deutsche Bank’s Indian retail and wealth management businesses.
Beyond the big cities
New locations include Bhubaneswar, Rajkot, Jalandhar and Mysuru. The four cities stretch HSBC’s reach across east, west, north and south.
Physical expansion remains harder for foreign banks than domestic ones. They face tighter restrictions on opening branches. Standard Chartered, the largest foreign-bank network, has 80 branches in India. Branch count, though, is only one measure of reach.
The GIFT City test
HSBC’s cross-border capabilities were visible in a recent GIFT City programme. It became the biggest lender to India’s diaspora under a special foreign-exchange swap scheme. HSBC disbursed $10.9 billion from GIFT City in three months. ICICI Bank ranked second, with $8.4 billion. The ranking applies only to that programme, not India’s wider lending market.
Mortgages, cards and corporates
The bank’s mortgage book has tripled over the past four years. Outstanding mortgages rose 25% year on year to ₹257 billion as of March 31. HSBC has focused on larger loans for premium homes. Premium credit cards, with annual fees up to ₹110,000 ($1,147), serve a similar purpose.
Beyond personal wealth, HSBC’s transaction banking serves companies directly. It handles payroll, foreign-exchange payments, dividend distribution and liquidity management.
Building a broader franchise
HSBC aims to rank among India’s top four or five private banks by 2030. That ambition refers to its wealth management business. Reaching it will require more than new branches.
HSBC’s test is whether local reach and global connectivity can work together. That combination sits at the heart of its India wealth push.
