South African lender FirstRand will open its
first retail branch in Mumbai in December 2011.
FirstRand, South Africa’s second-largest bank
by market value, plans to become the first African bank to offer
retail banking in India.
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FirstRand already holds a full commercial
banking licence in India, and has a presence in Mumbai.
Michael Jordaan, CEO of First National Bank
(FNB), a subsidiary of FirstRand, told RBI:
“Similar to our successful foray into Africa,
FNB’s entry into the Indian market will be via a greenfields or
startup strategy, where the bank will set up full retail and
commercial banking capabilities in-country. This will allow
capital to be deployed incrementally with reliance to be placed on
established, home-grown systems and processes.”
The lender will be trading as FRB (FirstRand
Bank) in India. Said Jordaan, “In essence we are backing our
entrepreneurial capability and the innovative products that have
differentiated us in South Africa. We are cognizant that a market
of this size will need one to constantly review our in-country
strategy, as scale in India is important.”
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By GlobalDataJordaan added that FirstRand will evaluate
working with “known groups in the market to build scale by
referrals and close associations”, including the possibility of
partnering with non banking financial institutions, telcos or
retailers.
