HSBC is tapping into the burgeoning wealth sector in India which is set, so some investment figures say, to become the world's third largest economy by 2030.

HSBC has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India to open 20 new branches in India to support its wealth expansion.

The new branches will be in cities identified for their growing wealth pools, serving as additional touchpoints for affluent, high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients with domestic and international wealth and banking needs. They will be located in Amritsar, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Dehradun, Faridabad, Indore, Jalandhar, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Mysuru, Nagpur, Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Patna, Rajkot, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Vadodara and Vishakhapatnam.

The expansion reinforces HSBC’s focus on the wealth opportunity in India, the lender said.

“India is an important market for HSBC and wealth in India is a focus,” Sandeep Batra, head, International Wealth and Premier Banking, HSBC India, said. “We’re aiming to be the preferred international bank for India’s affluent and globally mobile Indians. These new branches will help drive our International Wealth and Premier Banking proposition and build on our momentum with customers in India and our growing non-resident clientele around the world.”

India’s wealth market is expanding rapidly, with the number of ultra-high net worth individuals alone set to grow by 50 per cent by 2028. To address rising demand for wealth solutions, HSBC is continuing to enhance its capabilities and offering in the country, including launching Global Private Banking in 2023, completing its acquisition of L&T Investment Management in 2022, and strengthening its affluent-focused Premier Banking proposition in 2024.

The growth of India's wealth sector is becoming increasingly visible, drawing more banks into the country. In October 2022, LGT launched LGT Wealth India, to offer wealth management services to clients in India through its Indian entity. Reports have said UBS is looking at partnership options for wealth management in India. Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) is starting operations at the new GIFT City financial hub in India. On a related point, the number of Indian family offices has surged in recent years to about 300 from just 45 in 2018, with many families of Indian origin having set up these organisations in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai, among other locations. In India, DBS Private Bank issued a 77-page study, which includes examples of real family offices and businesses, entitled Global Indian Family Offices: Evolution of the Indian Diaspora. The report was researched and written in partnership with Bloomberg Media. DBS also announced a new CEO for India earlier in January.

HSBC has a network of 26 branches across 14 cities in India, including a recently-inaugurated 8,300 square foot branch in Bengaluru – its largest in the country to date. The UK/Hong Kong-listed lender has been present in the country for more than 170 years.

In a recent call with an India-focused fund manager, this publication was told that the country was on track to become the world's third-largest economy by 2030.