Standard Chartered hopes to manage $2 bn by December

Standard Chartered Private Bank is expecting to manage more than $ 2 billion in India by December this year, indicating a rise in the number of rich and ultra-rich households in the country.

Till June 2010, the bank, which manages the wealth of high and ultra high net worth individuals with investible surplus of $ 1 million of, was $1.75 billion.

The assets are likely to come from five locations, covering close to 700 households in India.

The bank, which has been maintaining a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35 per cent over the last year, expects a similar growth this year, said Soumya Rajan, managing director, head, private bank, India, on the sidelines of an event to announce the activities of the philanthropic wing of the bank.

Standard Chartered Private Bank has asset under management of $42 billion globally, out of which about two-thirds come from Asia, said Shayne Nelson, CEO and global head of private bank, chairman of Standard Chartered Saadiq Islamic Banking.

However, in terms of overall business, Asian countries like Singapore and Hong Kong still contribute a much larger share of business for Standard Chartered Private Bank.

“India is the second fastest growing market for us, after Singapore. We have been focusing on geographies like Asia, Africa and the Middle East,” said Nelson.

In India, the bank is planning to double the number of relationship managers from 50 at present, by 2013, covering nearly 15 cities. It is looking to expand to cities like Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad. According to the latest Forbes India’s rich list, the combined net worth of India’s 100 richest people is $300 billion, up from $276 billion last year.