Private sector banks vye to woo HNIs

Mumbai, June 12 (UNI) New Generation private sector banks are virtually running from pillar to post to bank on the HNI worth.

Barely after one month since Centurion Bank of Punjab donned the scene with 'Centurion Elite', a package of value added services intended HNIs, two major financial houses Ranbaxy promoted Religare and IndusInd Bank have eyed the HNIs loop with more services.

According to a pact inked today between the senior officials of both entities, Religare will provide Internet trading services to IndusInd bank customers.

Internet trading will come as one among the three value added services offered for customers apart from savings and demat accounts and has been intended for high networth individuals (HNIs), said IndusInd MD Bhasker Ghose.

''The alliance will enable us to expand our suite of capital market-related facilities to our customers in terms of Banking, Depository and Broking services,'' he said.

The tie-up has initially set its focus on Internet Trading which will be followed by a spectrum of services that include equities, commodities, insurance broking, wealth advisory, portfolio management services and personal finance services, said Religare CEO Sunil Godhwani.

''Around 15 lakh customers of IndusBank and nearly 170 branches in 27 states have given us a strong platform to expand our business prospects. This will allow customers to execute their transactions seamlessly to suit their needs and demands,'' he said.

IndusInd has tie-ups with Union National Bank(UNB) in UAE and with Dena Bank in Qatar.

The Bank will expand its operations to nearly 750 domestic centers in line with the Reserve Bank directive to practice Business Correspondent (BC) models in rural circles.

Centurion Bank, one of major players among the country's new generation private sector banks, had launched ''Centurion Elite'' a few weeks back, drawing inspiration from the success of similar services launched in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities in past year.

The package includes investment and broking services and special packages for HNIs.

UNI