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G. Naga Sridhar

Hyderabad, June 5 HSBC Private Banking will offer non-life insurance products to its customers from next month, according to Mr Ramnath Krishnan, Managing Director and Head, HSBC India Private Banking.

“We realised that there is good potential for non-life insurance products, such as art insurance, in our clientele of High Networth Individuals (HNIs),” Mr Krishnan told Business Line.

The products would be offered in association with Tata AIG as its corporate agent.

The bank also plans to bring out a number of thematic products, he said, adding: “The nature of products would be based on a function of our view and market requirements. They could be fixed income, equity of hybrid products. The product basket would also be diversified.”

In the recent past, the bank launched life-insurance, estate planning services, trust services and direct equity advisory.

The bank, which went slow on expanding its presence in Tier-II cities and towns due to the prevailing economic conditions, has short-listed five cities for expansion, including Jaipur, Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad.

“The recession has obviously delayed our expansion plans but we have not shelved it. It would be done in a phased manner,” Mr Krishnan said.

The private banking division’s staff strength has nearly remained flat for the last one year. ``But now, we are in a hiring mode. We don’t need to focus on numbers. Only quality of people is important,” he added. The the division has 72 professionals.

On the current investment trends, Mr Krishnan said the signals were encouraging. “The industry has grown by over 20 per cent in Asia during the last one year. In India, it could be on similar lines. The investments in Asia will certainly grow faster than other regions,” he said.

However, the predilection of the investors to keep money in bank deposits might continue to some extent, he added.

More Stories on : Foreign Banks | General Insurance

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