The Landscape
Who Is Building What for the Global Indian Client
40 firms benchmarked across model, dedication, tenure, footprint, and their India onshore arc. Click any firm for its full journey. All facts sourced from the public record.
Global Private Banks — Dedicated NRI Models
9 FIRMS
| Firm | Model | Dedicated | Tenure | Hubs | India arc | Scale marker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barclays Private Bank | The never-exited India onshore incumbent now hunting the 'wealthiest 1%' with a dedicated NRI desk in Singapore. | Yes | India onshore since 2008… | London · Dubai · Singapore · India onshore | Onshore active | $23.8bn India AUM, end-2025… |
| Citi | Four wealth hubs on the diaspora corridor plus a dedicated NRI desk in Singapore since early 2026. | Yes | NRI-desk lineage since at least 2012… | Singapore · Dubai · London · Hong Kong | Exited onshore | $5 million Citi Private Bank Dubai minimum… · self-rep. |
| Deutsche Bank | Sold its India onshore bank to Kotak to run NRI wealth purely offshore through its Global South Asia desks. | Yes | 15+ years… | Singapore · Dubai · Hong Kong · London · Switzerland · India onshore | Exited onshore | 80+ bankers, ~25% India Global South Asia client-facing… · self-rep. |
| EFG International | A recent GSA entrant — building Zurich, Singapore and Dubai NRI desks entirely from rivals' benches. | Yes | since May 2023… | Dubai · Singapore · Switzerland | Never onshore | CHF 196.3bn Group AUM at end-June 2026… |
| HSBC | Rebuilt its India private bank eight years after exiting — now runs 'Global India' as one franchise under a single head. | Yes | dedicated Global India coordination… | India onshore · Singapore · Dubai · Hong Kong · London · GIFT City | Exited → re-entered | +$6.14bn FCNR(B) deposit inflows under RBI… |
| Julius Baer | The oldest dedicated Global NRI franchise — 20 years old, never exited India onshore, now under one unified leader. | Yes | 20 years… | India onshore · Singapore · Dubai · Hong Kong · Switzerland | Onshore active | $30bn India business per Citywire headline… · self-rep. |
| LGT | Liechtenstein's princely bank built a fast-growing India onshore franchise, then wired it offshore via GIFT City. | — | India onshore since Sep 2022… | India onshore · GIFT City · Singapore · Dubai | Onshore active | CHF 386.1bn LGT Group assets under management at… |
| Standard Chartered | The only global bank running dedicated 'Global Indian' wealth centres inside India itself — Mumbai and Chennai — while never exiting the onshore market it has served since 1858. | Yes | 'many decades' serving domestic and NRI… | Singapore · Hong Kong · Dubai · London · Jersey · India onshore · GIFT City | Onshore active | USD 200bn Net new money target over five years… · self-rep. |
| UBS | Sold India onshore twice — then built a formal global-NRI business unit spanning Dubai, Singapore and London. | Yes | dedicated NRI coverage since at least… | Dubai · Singapore · London | Exited → partnership | 4.95% (~$220m) Warrant stake in 360 ONE taken… |
Global Banks — Implicit Coverage & White Space
5 FIRMS
| Firm | Model | Dedicated | Tenure | Hubs | India arc | Scale marker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BNP Paribas Wealth Management | Ran a named NRI desk for a decade (2012-2021) — now the sector's quiet talent donor, its bankers rebuilding rivals' franchises. | — | named NRI desk since 2012… | Singapore · Hong Kong | Never onshore | — |
| Goldman Sachs | Names 'non-resident Indian clients' on its official PWM site — the clearest such statement by any US bank — yet has built no dedicated NRI desk. | No | NRI named on the PWM Singapore site… | Singapore · Dubai · London | Never onshore | $7bn+ Capital Goldman has deployed in India… |
| Lombard Odier | A DIFC growth story built on the 'expat community' — with no NRI or Global-Indian segment named anywhere. | No | no NRI segment observed… | Dubai · Switzerland | Never onshore | 25 employees Lombard Odier UAE… · self-rep. |
| Morgan Stanley | Made a double exit in 2013 — India and EMEA private wealth — and has run no dedicated NRI desk since. | No | no NRI desk since the 2013 India + EMEA… | Hong Kong · Singapore · London | Exited onshore | ~$800m AUM of the Morgan Stanley India… |
| Pictet | A Greater China and North Asia wealth house — India and the NRI segment are absent from its map entirely. | No | no NRI segment or desk found in any… | Hong Kong · Singapore · Switzerland · Dubai | Never onshore | — |
Indian Firms Going Global
11 FIRMS
| Firm | Model | Dedicated | Tenure | Hubs | India arc | Scale marker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 360 ONE | India's UHNW leader: built an NRI offshore platform, bought UBS's India onshore book, handed UBS warrants for a 4.95% stake. | Yes | offshore since 2010… | Dubai · Singapore · GIFT City | Onshore active | ₹7.8 lakh crore total AUM Group assets under management at Q1… |
| ASK Private Wealth | Blackstone-backed Indian wealth arm that planted a DIFC flag in Jan 2025 to bridge NRIs and global investors into India. | Yes | DIFC office since Jan 2025 | Dubai · India onshore | Onshore active | ₹78,000 Cr+ group AUM (~US$9bn) ASK Asset & Wealth Management Group… · self-rep. |
| Avendus Wealth Management | KKR-then-Mizuho-owned Indian wealth arm — Gulf/Japanese capital buying into India's wealth machine, with no offshore diaspora branch of its own verified. | — | wealth arm within KKR-backed Avendus… | India onshore | Onshore active | >60% (Mizuho control) Mizuho Securities agreed to acquire… |
| Client Associates | The stay-at-home outlier: a ~$6.1bn Indian multi-family office with no offshore office — the counterpoint to the Dubai rush. | No | India-only footprint… | India onshore | Onshore active | ~$6.1bn Assets under advice… · self-rep. |
| ICICI Prudential Asset Management | ~$130bn Indian fund giant that planted a DIFC branch in Mar 2026 to sell India strategies to GCC and Africa institutions. | No | DIFC branch since March 2026 | Dubai · India onshore | Onshore active | ~$130bn ICICI Prudential AMC assets under… · self-rep. |
| IIFL Capital Services | ~$30bn Indian wealth manager (ex-IIFL Securities) run by two ASK alumni; Dubai only signalled, not yet built. | — | wealth build under joint CEOs since May… | India onshore | Onshore active | ~$30bn IIFL Capital Services assets under… · self-rep. |
| Kotak Mahindra Bank | India's UHNW bank runs an NRI stack offshore — GIFT City IBU + a DIFC Dubai branch — while buying Deutsche's India book. | Yes | offshore since 2016… | Dubai · GIFT City · Singapore · London · New York | Onshore active | ₹10,500 cr AUM / ~150,000 customers Deutsche Bank India retail + affluent… · self-rep. |
| Marcellus Investment Managers | Indian PMS house that wraps a global-stocks dollar portfolio in GIFT City to court NRI money PFIC- and India-CGT-free. | No | GIFT City US$ PMS since Oct 2022 | GIFT City · India onshore | Onshore active | ~20% p.a. US$ Global Compounders Portfolio returns… · self-rep. |
| Motilal Oswal Asset Management | Indian asset manager using a GIFT City dollar-fund platform to sell India equity to NRIs, foreign family offices and institutions. | No | GIFT City fund platform live since June… | GIFT City · India onshore | Onshore active | $250m+ Investor commitments on Motilal… · self-rep. |
| Nuvama Private | PAG-backed Indian private bank running a full NRI offshore stack: DIFC Dubai (2024) plus a MAS-licensed Singapore arm. | Yes | Dubai branch since Aug 2024… | Dubai · Singapore · India onshore | Onshore active | >$46bn Nuvama group assets under management… · self-rep. |
| Waterfield Advisors | Advisory-only Indian multi-family office pushing offshore via GIFT City and a 'Global Indians' segment; $18M-funded in 2025. | Yes | founded 2011… | GIFT City · India onshore | Onshore active | >$5bn Assets advised for ~375 client groups… · self-rep. |
Hub & Regional Banks
7 FIRMS
| Firm | Model | Dedicated | Tenure | Hubs | India arc | Scale marker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of Singapore | OCBC's private bank is the NRI sector's talent mint — it seeds rivals' Global South Asia desks, then rebuilds its own. | Yes | — | Singapore · Dubai · Hong Kong | Never onshore | >US$145bn Bank of Singapore AUM in 2025, having… · self-rep. |
| DBS | Asia's #3 private bank by AUM runs NRI as a named region — Singapore booking, DIFC beachhead, 500-branch India base. | Yes | in India since 1994… | Singapore · Dubai · Hong Kong · India onshore | Onshore active | USD 236.6bn DBS high net worth AUM… · self-rep. |
| Emirates NBD | Bought the NRI corridor outright — 60% of India's RBL Bank for ~$3bn, the largest FDI ever in an Indian bank. | Yes | India corridor since Oct 2025… | Dubai · GIFT City · India onshore | Onshore active | $3 billion Price for a 60% controlling stake in… |
| Lighthouse Canton | First pure-play 'Global Indian' platform — a Singapore MFO uniting fragmented NRI wealth across jurisdictions. | Yes | since July 2026… | Singapore · Dubai · London · India onshore · GIFT City | Onshore active | US$6 billion+ Assets under management overseen by… · self-rep. |
| Mashreq | First UAE bank inside GIFT City — a trade-and-treasury bridge planted on the India–Middle East corridor. | — | GIFT City since July 2025… | Dubai · GIFT City | — | — |
| Nomura | Japan's Nomura built an NRI desk into its young international wealth arm — Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai. | Yes | NRI coverage since 2021… | Singapore · Hong Kong · Dubai | Never onshore | — |
| RBC Wealth Management | Newest Global South Asia entrant — a Singapore NRI desk assembled entirely from rivals' benches (June 2026). | Yes | since June 2026… | Singapore · Hong Kong | Never onshore | >50% Asia RM headcount growth (2 yrs) RBC Wealth Management grew its Asia… |
Digital NRI Platforms
8 FIRMS
| Firm | Model | Dedicated | Tenure | Hubs | India arc | Scale marker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abound | Times Internet spinout building a US-first NRI money super-app, layering AI 'financial autopilot' agents onto remittance. | Yes | since 2020… | — | — | $14M Seed round… |
| Aspora | Category-leading NRI fintech (ex-Vance): stablecoin-rail remittance scaling into NRI banking and a dedicated wealth arm. | Yes | since 2023… | London · Dubai | — | $500M Valuation at Series B… |
| Belong | GIFT City-native NRI investing platform (ex-Goalwise founders): USD FDs, direct GIFT City MFs and GIFT Nifty futures, UAE-first. | Yes | since 2024 | GIFT City · Dubai | — | $5M Seed round… |
| iNRI | YC-backed full-stack NRI wealth + tax + documentation app; SEC-registered RIA offering GIFT City funds, MFs and US/India filing. | Yes | since 2023 | — | — | $500K Pre-seed from Y Combinator… · self-rep. |
| Remitly | Global remittance app; India is one of its three largest receive markets, paid via bank, UPI and cash across major Indian banks. | No | — | — | — | Top 3 India is one of Remitly's three… · self-rep. |
| SBNRI | Early-mover (2020) full-stack NRI app — banking, MFs, PMS, tax, FCNR — independent of State Bank of India. | Yes | since 2020 | India onshore | — | 59 Employees… |
| Wise | Remittance incumbent building India infrastructure: ~10% of inbound India transfers, a Hyderabad hub, and an RBI PA-CB nod. | No | — | India onshore | — | ~10% Share of money sent from abroad to… · self-rep. |
| Zolve | Cross-border neobank giving Indians moving to the US instant credit cards and checking without US credit history. | Yes | since 2021… | — | — | $251M ($51M equity + $200M debt) Series B, March 2025, led by Creaegis |