HDFC Bank eyes Investment Banking
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008The country’s second largest private sector lender, HDFC Bank, is looking to foray into Investment Banking in the next three-four months and also has plans to expand its international presence. It will set up over 250 new branches in next 2-3 months and is also looking to foray into the lucrative investment banking in India and abroad.
HDFC Bank is looking for its presence of global markets in the UK, Hong Kong and the Mid-East. For this purpose, the bank is looking to set up branches at places such as Bahrain, Hong Kong and London and has got SEBI’s approval for investment banking operation. However plans for Bahrain and Hong Kong are in advanced stages, but for setting up a branch in London, it is in the process of seeking regulatory approvals. The bank expects Bahrain branch to start in April-June quarter.
The highly competitive investment banking space is already flush with a number of full-service banks like SBI, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank, in addition to various pure-play domestic and overseas investment banks. The bank is looking for a strong client base in the wholesale banking business for competing with the existing players.The push into the investment banking market comes amid the Mumbai-based bank planning a major expansion of its retail banking network.
HDFC Bank had investment banking license in late 1990s but bad market conditions had forced it to surrender the same to SEBI. Currently it has 746 branches, over 200 less than those of ICICI Bank. The country’s second largest bank, HDFC is looking for more than 1,000 branches by March-April, which could make it bigger than ICICI Bank, the largest private sector lender, in terms of branch network.