HSBC makes big India push for affluent clients

HSBC Holdings Plc is aggressively expanding its presence in India, targeting affluent customers and leveraging its global network to cater to clients with cross-border financial interests. The London-based lender aims to become one of the top four or five private banks in India by 2030, according to its India chief executive officer, Hitendra Dave.

HSBC is focusing on three key areas: wealth management, transaction banking, and its "globality" strategy, using its international connections to serve clients with international business ties.

The growth strategy puts HSBC in direct competition with established domestic banks like ICICI Bank Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra Ltd., which are also vying for a larger share of India's rapidly expanding wealthy market. However, India's banking landscape is complex, with both large, scaling domestic banks and younger, locally founded institutions competing for clients and talent. This has led to record-high salaries for relationship managers.

Foreign banks, including HSBC, Standard Chartered Plc, and Barclays Plc, are among a select group of institutions building their wealth management businesses in India. They face stricter branch-opening regulations compared to domestic rivals, making it challenging to establish nationwide networks. HSBC's recent push includes opening 46 branches across 34 cities in India over the next two years, including locations in Bhubaneswar, Rajkot, Jalandhar, and Mysuru.

HSBC's strategy emphasizes targeting customers with at least $2 million in investable assets, describing this growing segment as increasingly "global." The bank's premium credit cards and large-ticket mortgages are being used to deepen relationships with wealthy clients, with annual fees reaching up to 110,000 rupees ($1,147) and mortgage book growth tripling over the past four years. HSBC has also become the largest lender to India's diaspora, disbursing $10.9 billion through a special foreign-exchange swap program.