Dedicated NRI model
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.
Dedicated NRI team
Yes
Strategy tenure
'many decades' serving domestic and NRI clients (self-described, Oct 2024); onshore India since 1858
India onshore arc
Onshore active
Hubs
Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, London, Jersey, India onshore, GIFT City
Standard Chartered runs 'Global Indian' as a named proposition inside its Affluent business (Priority, Priority Private and the Global Private Bank), headed by UAE-based Rajesh Kannan, with dedicated Global Indian centres in Mumbai and Chennai and international wealth hubs listed variously as Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE and Jersey (Dec 2024 release) or the UK (Oct 2024 release). The December 2024 plan targets USD 200 billion in net new money over five years with a 50% relationship-manager expansion by 2028, and the August 2026 IFSCA in-principle approval adds GIFT City — where it was the first foreign bank, live since June 2020 — as a wealth-distribution leg. Unusually among global peers, it serves the corridor from both offshore hubs and a deep onshore India franchise operating since 1858, and it is funding the wealth pivot by shedding non-core retail assets (personal loan book sold to Kotak, Oct 2024).
Why it matters
Standard Chartered is the structural incumbent of the Global Indian corridor: it never exited India onshore, bought Morgan Stanley's exit in 2013, and is now the only global bank with a named, dedicated-centre 'Global Indian' segment feeding a $200bn group NNM plan. Its 2024-26 sequence — shed personal loans to Kotak, open Global Indian centres in Mumbai and Chennai, then bolt wealth distribution onto its first-mover GIFT City branch — shows a bank rebuilding its India franchise entirely around affluent and NRI wealth rather than balance-sheet retail.
By the numbers
USD 200bn
Net new money target over five years (group Wealth & Retail Banking)
Standard Chartered press release · Dec 2024 · self-reported
+50% RMs by 2028
Relationship-manager team expansion pledge (Judy Hsu, CEO Wealth and Retail Banking)
Standard Chartered press release · Dec 2024 · self-reported
Double-digit growth (2024)
Global Indian client segment growth in 2024
Khaleej Times (KT Network) · Jan 2025 · self-reported
18m+ expatriates
Global Indian diaspora size cited in SC's own campaign (noun: 'Indian expatriates')
Standard Chartered campaign page (Spotlight: Global India) · Feb 2025 · self-reported
800,000 → 1.6m HNWIs
India HNW individuals (>USD 1m liquid assets), past decade to 2027 projection, SC-cited
Standard Chartered campaign page (Spotlight: Global India) · Feb 2025 · self-reported
53 + 64 markets
Footprint: presence in 53 markets, serving clients in a further 64
Standard Chartered release via WebWire · Oct 2024 · self-reported
The journey
To launch Signature CIO Funds ($5bn+ AUM franchise) from GIFT City
SC announced it will begin offering wealth solutions from GIFT City, starting with its Signature CIO Funds — which have attracted more than $5 billion in AUM across 12 markets since their 2022 launch — for eligible clients. Samir Subberwal (Global Head, Wealth Solutions): 'growing demand from affluent clients for internationally diversified portfolios'.
IFSCA in-principle approval to offer wealth products from GIFT City
SC received in-principle approval from the International Financial Services Centres Authority to offer wealth management products from GIFT City, expecting to roll out retail wealth offerings 'over the next few months'. P D Singh (CEO, India and South Asia): the approval 'enables us to bring Standard Chartered's global wealth management capabilities' to the hub.
Global Indian segment posts double-digit 2024 growth; first International Banking Centre for Global Indians at Mumbai flagship
Rajesh Kannan (MD and Head of Wealth and Retail Banking UAE, International Banking EMEA and Jersey; Head of Global Indians) reported the refreshed proposition delivered double-digit growth of the client segment in 2024, and cited the launch of SC's first International Banking Centre for Global Indians at its flagship Mumbai branch. Kannan: 'Global Indians are the fastest-growing diaspora in the world with a large affluent concentration in the UAE.'
$200bn net-new-money five-year plan; Global Indian centres launched in Mumbai AND Chennai
SC targeted USD 200 billion in net new money over five years, backed by the USD 1.5 billion investment commitment announced in October 2024 and a 50% relationship-manager expansion by 2028. The release confirms 'dedicated Global Indian centres in Mumbai and Chennai have been launched' and names global wealth hubs in Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE and Jersey.
Refreshes 'Global Indian' proposition; first International Priority Centre opens in Mumbai
SC refreshed its Global Indian proposition within the Affluent segment (Priority, Priority Private and the Global Private Bank) and opened its International Priority Centre in Mumbai — 'a first of such centres globally'. Vinay Gandhi (Global Head, Global South Asian Community): 'For many decades, Standard Chartered has been serving the financial needs of domestic and non-resident Indian clients.'
Sells India personal loan book (~₹4,100 cr) to Kotak to fund wealth pivot
Standard Chartered Bank, India agreed to sell its personal loan book — a total loan outstanding of around ₹4,100 crore (~$490 million) as of 30 September 2024 — to Kotak Mahindra Bank. Aditya Mandloi (Head – Wealth & Retail Banking, India & South Asia) framed the divestment as accelerating growth in wealth, affluent and SME.
Euromoney: world's best private bank for non-resident Indians 2023
Euromoney's Private Banking Awards named Standard Chartered 'The world's best private bank for non-resident Indians 2023' (published 30 March 2023).
First foreign bank to open at GIFT City IFSC
Standard Chartered Bank, India launched operations at the IFSC within GIFT City, Gandhinagar, effective Monday 1 June 2020 — the first foreign bank to commence operations in IFSC. Initial focus: External Commercial Borrowings, export trade finance and financial-market products.
Buys Morgan Stanley's India private wealth unit (~$800m AUM)
Morgan Stanley divested its India private wealth management unit to Standard Chartered; the unit had approximately $800 million of assets under management, with Standard Chartered expected to initially pay $8 million.
Connections
Featured in: Sell India onshore, double down on the NRI offshore — a pattern repeated four times · London → Dubai: the decade's biggest wealth migration, and India's counter-offensive
10 sources · all linked
Standard Chartered press release · Khaleej Times (KT Network) · Standard Chartered campaign page (Spotlight: Global India) · Standard Chartered release via WebWire · Standard Chartered press release · Reuters via Yahoo Finance UK · Kotak Mahindra Bank media release (PDF) · Euromoney · Standard Chartered press release (PDF) · Zacks via Yahoo Finance