Federal Bank announced its board’s approval to acquire a specific retail credit card portfolio from Standard Chartered Bank India. The transaction value remains undisclosed as per the regulatory filing. The agreement involves Federal Bank taking over a portion of SCB India’s retail credit card portfolio, with further details to follow post-execution.
The move by Standard Chartered to recalibrate its retail strategy in India involves a shift away from standalone credit card offerings. Instead, the focus will be on developing deeper, multi-product relationships with customers, integrating credit cards into broader banking, wealth, and lifestyle services. Standard Chartered had approximately 700,000 credit cards in India as of January, with around 550,000 being standalone cards and the rest tied to broader banking relationships.
Aditya Mandloi, head of wealth and retail banking for India and South Asia at Standard Chartered, emphasized the bank’s shift towards prioritizing comprehensive client relationships over single-product offerings like standalone cards. This portfolio sale aligns with Standard Chartered’s restructuring of its retail business in India, following its exit from the personal loans segment last year by selling it to Kotak Mahindra Bank.
The acquisition of the retail credit card portfolio from Standard Chartered Bank India is expected to enhance Federal Bank’s retail lending presence and grant access to an established credit card customer base. This move comes amid increasing competition in India’s rapidly expanding consumer credit market.
