DBS plans putting up India subsidiary

DBS India will go retail with savings bank account, as it awaits RBI's final guidelines on foreign banks.

The Singapore-based Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) is mulling at setting up an Indian subsidiary. At present, foreign banks operate in India either as a subsidiary or branches.

However, most of the foreign banks including DBS have chosen branch route rather than subsidiary. "We are very keen and very positively inclined to go for subsidiary,” Sanjiv Bhasin, GM & CEO, DBS India, said. The bank is awaiting RBI's final guidelines on foreign banks, which will lend more clarity on tax implications of converting branches into wholly-owned subsidiary.

The RBI in a discussion paper on role of foreign banks, issued last week has made a case for wholly-owned subsidiary. "The expectation of RBI would be that foreign banks, which become systemically important because of their balance sheet size, would voluntarily convert themselves into a wholly owned subsidiary," RBI said.

DBS India, which currently is focusing on wholesale banking, will go retail with savings bank account. "We wish to raise traditional CASA (current and savings account) deposit base," Bhasin said. Currently, the bank's CASA base is 22%.

View the full story in The India Times.