DBS Launches Priority Banking Service In India
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Plans to offer wide range of wealth management and investment product
MUMBAI AND SINGAPORE, 8 MAY 2006 – DBS Bank launched its DBS Treasures
Priority Banking service for the high net worth market segment in India.
In addition to corporate and investment banking services, the DBS Mumbai
Branch will now also offer a comprehensive suite of services to individuals
with a minimum investment of Rs. 25 lakhs (about US$55,500).
DBS Treasures will provide high net worth customers in India with access
to a wide range of wealth management and investment products, including
mutual funds, insurance, direct equity, bonds and portfolio management
services through our partners in India. For example, DBS Bank tied up
with Tata AIG Life Insurance to offer its customers Tata AIG Life’s entire
range of insurance products through the bancassurance model.
“India is clearly one of the main engines of a resurgent Asia and as
a bank born and bred in Asia, we cannot ignore the huge opportunity in
this country. Last year, DBS partnered the well-respected Murugappa Group
of Chennai in a joint venture to form Cholamandalam DBS Finance Ltd, a
leading financial services franchise with over 120 outlets. India is a
critical market for us and we have made capital investments of over US$170
million in our operations here, including our investment in Cholamandalam
DBS,” said Rajan Raju, DBS’ Managing Director and Head of South &
Southeast Asia.
He added that the launch of DBS Treasures in India ties in well with
the creation of DBS’ Non Resident Indian business in Singapore and will
provide Indian customers with the best of wealth management expertise
in Asia.
“Not only will our affluent customers in India gain access to locally
relevant products and services, they are also gaining the trusted reliability
of our Singapore home base,” he noted.
Designated relationship managers will be on hand to offer personalised
services tailored to the customer’s financial needs as DBS believes strongly
that clients need to make investment decisions based on their risk appetite,
time horizon and individual financial needs. Through our partner CRISIL
Fund Services, one of India’s leading and most respected financial research
companies, customers will be offered appropriate investments and regular
fund performance reviews based on their Composite Performance Rankings.
Pranam Wahi, General Manager & CEO, DBS India, added: “We believe
in bringing all the best products and services to India and this launch
is a manifestation of our commitment to the Indian market. DBS Treasures
will introduce Indian customers to the same high-end banking experience
that we are renowned for across Southeast Asia.”
With their DBS Treasures Card, customers will enjoy preferred access
to world-class hotels, events & seminars, restaurants and speciality
stores not just in India, but in other select countries as well.
DBS has also invested significantly in setting up back-end technologies
to provide customers with global service standards, including up-to-the-minute
customer profiling and asset allocation mix as well as consolidated statements.
This system-driven process allows DBS Treasures to provide customers with
high-quality services at every performance review.
Raj Mahadev, Head of Wealth Management, DBS India, explained: “As a
group, we believe that service and technology are key differentiators
and DBS Treasures delivers this promise. We bring in our regional relationship
management model which enables us to keep clients updated proactively,
and the technologies that we have invested in permit us to provide comprehensive
solutions for our valued clients.”
About DBS
Headquartered in Singapore, DBS is one of the largest financial services
groups in Asia with almost five million customers and operations in 15
markets. The largest bank in Singapore and the fifth largest banking group
in Hong Kong as measured by assets, DBS’ “AA-” and “Aa2” credit ratings
are among the highest in the Asia-Pacific region. DBS has leading positions
in consumer banking, treasury and markets, asset management, securities
brokerage, equity and debt fund raising. Beyond the anchor markets of
Singapore and Hong Kong, DBS serves corporate, institutional and retail
customers through its operations in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Thailand and The Philippines. More information about DBS Group Holdings
and DBS Bank can be obtained from our website www.dbs.com.
About DBS in India
Our presence in India dates back to 1994 when DBS Bank opened a representative
office in Mumbai, which was upgraded to a full branch in March 1995. We
opened our New Delhi branch in June 2005. From Mumbai and New Delhi, DBS
services corporate and institutional clients from all the major cities
in India through its advisory relationship team.
As one of Asia’s largest financial services groups, DBS has the resources,
expertise and experience to provide a full range of corporate and investment
banking services to large corporations, financial institutions as well
as SMEs in India.
Working closely with DBS’ headquarters in Singapore, the Bank offers
advisory services, trade finance, funding, transactional services and
a whole range of treasury solutions.
DBS has extensive experience in providing innovative financial solutions
to a number of blue-chip companies in India. A key player in the Asian
capital markets, DBS is a well-recognised name in corporate banking, loan
syndication and fund-raising. We were No. 3 as mandated arrangers for
India syndicated loans in 2005; and broke into the M&A league tables
at No. 8 in 2005, the year we launched our full suite of investment banking
services in India.
In January 2006, DBS completed a transaction to own a joint controlling
stake in Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited, a well-regarded
Non-Banking Finance Company based in Chennai. The joint venture Cholamandalam
DBS Finance Ltd primarily focuses on both consumer and commercial finance
in India. Through its subsidiaries, it has also established a presence
in the securities and asset management businesses.
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