Standard Chartered expands GIFT City presence with wealth management push

The foreign lender expects to roll out wealth management services over the next few months, expanding its retail offerings from the international financial services centre

Standard Chartered has received in-principle approval from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to distribute capital market products from GIFT City, paving the way for the foreign lender to launch its wealth management business from the international financial services centre.

 

The bank expects to roll out its wealth management offering over the next few months, marking an expansion of its retail services from GIFT City.

 

Standard Chartered was the first foreign bank to commence operations at GIFT City in 2020. It currently offers lending, trade finance, transaction banking and financial markets products to corporate and institutional clients from the centre.

 

 

“The bank has been a strong supporter of India’s economic growth and increasing integration with global financial markets,” said P D Singh, chief executive officer for India and South Asia at Standard Chartered.

 

Singh said the bank served more than 600 clients in GIFT City, including multinational corporations, domestic companies, financial institutions, and small and medium enterprises, and had financed more than $25 billion across products.

 

He said the latest approval would allow the bank to extend its global wealth management capabilities from GIFT City while supporting the centre’s ambition of becoming a leading international financial services hub.

 

“As we engage with clients and investors across global markets, we see a growing interest in GIFT City as a financial gateway to India,” Singh said.

 

The bank has also built a presence among fund management companies, foreign portfolio investors and regional treasury centres operating from GIFT City.

 

It added that it had introduced several products in the IFSC ecosystem over the years, including offshore derivative instrument issuances, foreign portfolio investor transactions, bullion hedging solutions and receivables factoring.

 

Over the past two years, Standard Chartered has expanded its team and product offerings at GIFT City, including corporate treasury management solutions and the foreign currency settlement system.