Large corporates, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and financial institutions are key focus areas ABN Amro will target, to boost its Indian operations, said Meera Sanyal, the newly appointed executive vice president and country executive (India). The bank has a strong corporate client base like Hindalco, Tata Group, and Suzlon.
Speaking to the media after the launch of the designer Platinum Credit Card in Mumbai on Wednesday, Sanyal said, ABN topped the list in syndicated loan deals in the country. ?While we are looking at large corporates and SMEs for our business growth, we are also keen toward areas like FIs and financial sponsorships to fuel our business, which has been growing at over 30% in the recent past,? she said. Elaborating her plans, Sanyal said apart from providing loans, ABN would also provide a range of sophisticated products to meet various needs like debt and foreign exchange. The bank wants to tap FIs by adopting the route of correspondent banking. The bank is also exploring opportunities in providing expertise in the field of hedging and equities as part of its financial sponsorship programme.
At present, ABN has its presence in 21 cities through its 28 branch network. The bank has the licences for setting up three more branches, one each in Agra, Jodhpur, and Jalandhar, said Sanyal. On the retail focus, the bank?s Asia head of consumer clients, Jim Brown said that the savings come from nearly 1,00,000 households in India, which is currently valued at $10 lakh.
Sanyal said the bank has a niche segment and catered to the needs of mostly the affluent and near prime customers. Their retail business was growing at 38% annually in India, she said.
The existing credit card base of the bank in the country stood at 10 lakh. However, the gestation period for the Platinum card business is estimated to be around 18 months.
The Platinum credit card has been designed by noted designer Rohit Bal. The bank enjoys a market share of 6% in the credit card space and it is expected that the new designer card will increase the base to the sophisticated and discerning affluent customer in the country.