The Hindu Business Line : StanChart to ramp up microfinance activities

New Delhi, Oct. 31 Standard Chartered Bank plans to ramp up its activities in the microfinance space in the coming months, Mr Neeraj Swaroop, CEO-India, Standard Chartered Bank, has said. “We will increase our exposure as well as the number of microfinance institutions (MFI) partners. Microfinance is also a commercially attractive proposition. The aim is to increase our exposure from current level of close to Rs 100 crore to about Rs 500 crore by December 2008,” Mr Swaroop said.

Meanwhile, the Board of Standard Chartered Plc, which met in New Delhi, looked at agricultural finance and discussed ways of helping the Indian farming community. This is the fifth time in the last seven years that the board has met in India.

Standard Chartered Plc Chairman, Mr E. Mervyn Davies, said that Standard Chartered Bank wants to transform itself into a pan-Indian bank over the next 10-20 years. “We want to be present in 100 cities of the country,” Mr Davies said. Standard Chartered Bank currently has 83 branches in 33 cities, officials said.

He also noted that branch licensing restrictions were limiting growth for the bank. “We would like to open more branches in India, especially in the rural areas, but the cap on the number of branches a foreign bank can open is putting a limitation on our growth”, he said, adding that all international banks were facing a similar problem.

“India is hugely important to the future of Standard Chartered. India is part of our DNA,” Mr Davies said. He expects Asia to be growth driver for the bank in the coming days.

On the financial market crisis Mr Mervyn said “In the short term, I don’t think the crisis in the financial markets is over”.

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