Many banks in India are opting for alternate banking channels to garner maximum business. especially from the feeder regions of India.
Following ICICI Bank, HSBC (India) too has launched an open-architecture internet bank account concept in a bid to woo techno savvy customers.
Aimed at bolstering the SME clientele, the newly launched ?HSBC Direct for business? concept will facilitate round-the-clock banking facility to entrepreneurs through an internet platform.
Puneet Chaddha, managing director and head of commercial banking, HSBC India, said, ?The new e-concept is exclusively designed to attract Indian SMEs having an annual turnover of less than Rs 50 crore.?
Naina Lal Kidwai, group general manager, country head & CEO, HSBC India said, ?Such an initiative becomes inevitable for HSBC in an emerging market like India where the bank currently does not enjoy an adequate presence in all the feeder regions where SME sector growth is very phenomenal.?
Margaret Leung, general manager, global co-head, commercial banking, HSBC, said, ?We aim to get 60% of our global banking business from the emerging economies including India where SME sector contributes to over 70% to the country?s growth.?
HSBC has already launched such an e-platform for SME customers in UK and Ireland in September 2006, and also plans to introduce the service in four other countries including Hong Kong. HSBC has so far managed to attract 94,000 customers under the ?HSBC Direct? initiative.