(11 April 2006 – India) Standard Chartered is set to target India’s burgeoning middle classes in smaller cities as well as larger ones and has submitted its expansion plans to India’s central bank.Standard Chartered chief executive, India, Neeraj Swaroop, said penetration of retail banking into smaller Indian cities was currently very low and there was a “big opportunity”.
The bank has nearly a third of foreign owned branches in India with 81 branches.
Swaroop said the bank was looking to make acquisitions but that it was only able to bid for weaker banks because of ownership restrictions.