StanChart trims India branch network to focus on wealth clients: report

Standard Chartered Bank has cut its India branch network to 80 from 100 over the past year as the British lender sharpens its focus on wealth management and affluent customers, Business Standard reported, citing people aware of the matter.

The reduction marks a notable pullback in the physical footprint of one of India’s oldest foreign banks, even as Standard Chartered continues to have the largest branch network among foreign lenders that have not shifted to the wholly owned subsidiary model, the report said.

The bank has rationalized its presence by merging branches located close to each other and closing some single-city branches, according to the people cited by Business Standard.

The lender has not surrendered the branch licences to the Reserve Bank of India, the report said. One unidentified person told the newspaper that the bank was reviewing whether the licences could be redeployed.

Standard Chartered said it was expanding its priority centres network within existing branches from 20 centres to around 30 by the end of 2026, the report said.

The move fits into a wider shift among foreign banks in India, where lenders have increasingly focused on wealth, affluent banking, corporate clients and digital delivery rather than broad branch-led retail expansion.

For Standard Chartered, the branch cuts also follow other moves to trim parts of its mass retail exposure.

In October 2024, the bank sold its personal loan business to Kotak Mahindra Bank. The deal covered a loan book of about ₹4,100 crore of standard assets.

In April this year, it decided to sell 450,000 credit cards to Federal Bank, in line with its strategy to move away from single-product relationships, Business Standard reported.

Standard Chartered’s India website describes the bank as having operated in the country for more than 165 years and says its key businesses include Corporate and Investment Banking and Wealth and Retail Banking.

The shift also reflects a broader reality in Indian banking. Foreign banks have found it difficult to compete with large domestic lenders in mass retail banking, where public sector banks and private sector players have stronger distribution, cheaper deposits and deeper local reach.