Singapore-based DBS Bank expects the business of its wholly-owned Indian subsidiary, DBS Bank India Ltd (DBIL), to treble to about ₹1.50-lakh crore in the next five years.
As part of its business expansion plan, the foreign bank, which converted its Indian operations into a wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS), will be ramping up customer touch points – a combination of branches and kiosks – to 100 across 25 cities (from 12 branches in as many locations now) in the next 12-18 months; step up focus on consumer and SME banking; and build up low-cost current account, savings account (CASA) deposits from 15-18 per cent now to 25 per cent by next year.
Piyush Gupta, Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said the bank has so far pumped ₹7,700 crore into its Indian operations, including ₹1,800 crore in 2018. The capital infused in 2018 was for conversion of DBS’ branch operations into WOS, supporting growth, and expanding the capacity of the Hyderabad-based technology and operations hub.
Referring to India’s sustained growth, initiatives of the government (such as direct benefit transfer), digitalisation and urbanisation, Gupta, who announced the launch of DBIL’s operations, underscored that the time to be in India (for business) is now. DBIL will look at accelerating its growth plans through a ‘phygital’ (physical plus digital) model.
Currently, DBS’ Indian loan portfolio (₹20,000 crore) mainly comprises corporate loans, with less than 10 per cent accounted for by retail and SME segments. It expects to end the financial year (March-end 2019) with business, including loans and investments, of ₹50,000 crore.