For years, the country''s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank positioned itself as the peoples bank hoping to capture the growing wealth of the great Indian middle class. Now as that same middle class starts to feel the pinch of a slowdown, ICICI Bank seems to shifting its focus to the cream of the Indian economy.
The bank has decided to significantly ramp up its wealth management business with the launch of a global private clients division. The division will target consumers with more than a million dollars to spare looking to invest in global investment products structured to meet their specific demands.
ICICI wealth management and private client business currently has nearly $26 billion in assets under management with 18 billion of that centered in the Indian market.Over the next year ICICI plans to grow this business by more than 50 per cent with an aim to add at least a 1000 new clients in the ultra rich category. And as these clients make money on their investments - the bank hopes to see the gains flow into its own coffers - through a heft jump in fee income.
The focus on high-end clients comes at a time when the bank''s core retail lending business is going through a sharp slowdown. The retail lending is now growing barely in single digits and it is that slowdown that ICICI is hoping to compensate for by focusing on higher margin fee based businesses.
The bank has decided to significantly ramp up its wealth management business with the launch of a global private clients division. The division will target consumers with more than a million dollars to spare looking to invest in global investment products structured to meet their specific demands.
ICICI wealth management and private client business currently has nearly $26 billion in assets under management with 18 billion of that centered in the Indian market.Over the next year ICICI plans to grow this business by more than 50 per cent with an aim to add at least a 1000 new clients in the ultra rich category. And as these clients make money on their investments - the bank hopes to see the gains flow into its own coffers - through a heft jump in fee income.
The focus on high-end clients comes at a time when the bank''s core retail lending business is going through a sharp slowdown. The retail lending is now growing barely in single digits and it is that slowdown that ICICI is hoping to compensate for by focusing on higher margin fee based businesses.
No comments:
Post a Comment