According to Dyfrig J John, CEO and country head HSBC India, the bank is negotiating with Republic National Bank of US, for a merger while it is in the process of identifying some more banks from Korea and Thailand. As of now, the bank is ranked number three in capital base while it is in the number one position as for as profitability is concerned, he added.

At present the HSBC Global has a capital base of about $45 billion, with an asset base of $497 billion.

DJ John is in Hyderabad in connection with the opening of bank's 23rd branch, the second in the state, the first one was at Vizag, Hyderabad. The new branch will offer a host of corporate and personal banking products and services including car loans and home loans. The Hyderabad branch will target to increase mid-corporate customer, he added.

While summing up the Indian operations, John said, it has recorded Rs 6,400 crore deposits while the advances and investment accounts for Rs 6,250 crore. However, it has reported 26 per cent decline mainly due to advertising and infrastructure costs, he said.

The bank has so far invested about Rs 150 crore towards technology and office space which is on par with the global standards. John said the Hyderabad branch, which will fill the gap in the domestic networking, has spent about Rs 2 crore towards assets and technology.

The CEO and country head said that once the RBI approval is accorded the three branches of HSBC Middle-East will be added to the network taking the total number of branches to 26. Further, the bank proposes to open few more branches in north India including one at Gujarat and Pune. The bank also has plans to relocate some of the branches to more suitable locations.