Abn Amro Plans To Buy Out Local Bank

Dutch bank ABN Amro is planning to acquire an Indian bank to expand its retail presence here. "If we get a chance, we will do it tomorrow. We are working at it very hard," said ABN Amro board director C H A Collee. The objective behind the proposed acquisition is to go big on the retail front.

In a related development, the bank is ready to open a processing centre in Mumbai. It incorporated ACES (ABN Amro Central Enterprises Services) India Private Ltd last week. This will be the bank's fourth processing centre after the ones in the US, Brazil and the Netherlands.

 

This processing outfit will meet in-house processing needs and subsequently will sell its services to the ABN Amro network.

The bank's senior executive vice-president, Jan Peter Schittmann, said in course of time other banks can also outsource from this unit. ACES will commence operations from January next year.

"We are ready to invest in India. The plan is to grow step by step. We are on look out for a bank with presence in metros. We are closely watching the regulations regarding FDI and FII limits in banks. We will certainly like to have a controlling stake," Collee said.

The bank has identified a two-pronged strategy to grow organically through expansion of its branch network and through the acquisition route. It will increase its branch network to 16 from the present 10 in 2002.

As far as its acquisition plans are concerned, ABN Amro is eyeing a bank which is client-driven, having presence in metros and also having multi-channel marketing and retail focus.

In ABN Amro's plans to become one of the top retail banks in the country, Collee accepted the acquisition route would be a medium-term proposition. The immediate plan is to increase the product line and the customer base.

The bank is also focusing on two new business areas -- credit cards and mortgages -- to increase retail presence, in addition to its existing auto-loan and consumer businesses. "We plan to kick off the credit card business in the first-quarter of the next financial year," Ramesh Sobti, the bank's chief executive officer in India, said.