SBI to enter wealth management business

16 Jun 2010

State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, is planning a phased entry in the wealth management business beginning the current financial year.

SBI hopes to tap high net worth clients through its wealth management business.

"We plan to introduce wealth management services in a phased manner in the current fiscal," SBI chairman, O P Bhatt said at the bank's annual general meeting.

SBI, which recently bought back the 13.84 per cent stake in its investment banking arm, SBI Capital Markets, from the Asian Development Bank, is also scouting for a global partner for its merchant acquiring business, which it plans to run under a separate company.

The transaction, made for an undisclosed amount, makes SBI Caps a wholly-owned subsidiary of SBI.

"It is proposed to conduct the merchant acquiring business under a separate company with an experienced and reputed global partner," Bhatt said.