Will Tech And Small Towns Give StanChart an Edge?

Unlike rival Citibank, standard Chartered bank has the option to explore retail banking more aggressively. backed by a digital thrust, Ceo Zarin daruwala has more opportunities than challenges ahead of her

- Salil Panchal

When Citibank announced, on April 15, the shuttering of its consumer banking business across several countries, including India and China, the glaring reality surfaced— once again—that the preference foreign banks once enjoyed in India in the retail banking space have completely vanished.

Over the past two decades, the massive domination that Indian private banks such as HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank have come to command in retail, has led foreign banks to lose their premium position.

Citi’s exit has also meant that Standard Chartered Bank, which has 100 branches in 43 cities and has been operating here since 1858, stands a chance to become the leader in the foreign bank's space. StanChart offers a mix of retail products, from personal and home loans to loans against securities and property, and credit and debit card products to its Indian customers.

Standard Chartered Bank’s tryst with retail banking in India has been mixed in many ways. Over the past decade, its retail banking size as a percentage of the total business has ranged between 24 and 30 percent. In FY20, the Indian operation reported a net segment revenue of ₹2,417.26 crore for retail banking and ₹3,637.8 crores for wholesale, from a total of ₹9,420.76 crore.

“The bank expanded the balance sheet growth through portfolio purchases and wealth product expansion.”

ZARIN DARUWALA CEO, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK, INDIA