DBS submits application to start subsidiary operations in India

Mumbai: DBS Group Holdings, Singapore's biggest bank, has applied to the Reserve Bank of India to start subsidiary operations in the country, Chief Executive Piyush Gupta said on Tuesday. DBS said it applied to set up the locally incorporated unit to boost its banking business in Asia's third-largest economy.

If approved, the application submitted a couple of weeks ago will help DBS bolster banking services to small and medium enterprises and consumers in India, Gupta added. The central bank in November 2013 had said it would treat foreign banks operating in the country on nearly equal terms with local lenders if they moved to a wholly owned subsidiary structure.

However, very few banks have shown interest, with DBS being among the first banks to submit a formal application to the central bank.