Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) is, reportedly, weighing plans to launch an Indian banking subsidiary.
ANZ CEO, Michael Smith, was quoted by the LiveMint as saying that the bank is "a willing participant" in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) proposal for local incorporation, although; it requests RBI to reconsider its priority-lending rules for large foreign banks.
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"We have to really wait and see what RBI wants from that (local incorporation). Right now, it’s not very clear. There should be a good dialogue between banks and RBI," Smith said.
In November 2013, RBI assured the foreign lenders for near-national treatment compared to local banks, if they establish a wholly-owned local subsidiary in the country.
Commenting on the RBI mandate for 40% priority sector lending target, Smith said, "For a foreign bank like us, lending to the farming sector in the middle of India is not a core competence because we wouldn’t know and it would lead to bad lending."
"That’s not to say that foreign banks cannot participate in some form of support for the agriculture sector. So far, RBI appears to be thinking through these issues."
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By GlobalDataANZ was one of the foreign lenders until 2000, when it divested its business in the country to Standard Chartered.
