Stifled by India’s branch restrictions and the huge brand name advantage of big local players, foreign banks such as ABN AMRO are courting customers with tennis champions and Bollywood filmstars.
The Dutch financial services firm, which has 22 branches in 15 cities in India, recently enlisted former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek to meet a few dozen high-priority clients.
“I don’t have the advantage of 8,000 branches,” said Romesh Sobti, India country representative for ABN. “It forces us to think differently — that’s an advantage.”
Loan growth in the world’s second most populous nation was 30.6 percent in the year through January and foreign banks are ramping up in a market where the biggest hurdle is that the government only grants 12 branch licenses a year to foreign lenders, who control only about 7 percent of the banking market.
For this complete story, please visit Foreign Banks Get Creative in India’s Booming Market.
