DBS Bank is reportedly planning to cut down its branch network in India over the next two to three years as part of its cost-cutting strategy.
The bank’s branch network surged to 600 after it acquired troubled local lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) late last year, which added 563 branches.
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DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta was quoted by Business Standard as saying: “Do we need 600 branches? I do not think.”
However, Gupta did not specify the number of branches that will be closed as part of the overhaul.
During the DBS’s acquisition LVB, the acquired bank’s former director Shakti Sinha said: “For a bank of its size, a network of 563 branches was huge. In these days of digital banking, there is all the possibility of DBS Bank India rationalising LVB’s branch network.”
But so far DBS India has been maintaining the substantial branch presence as part of its strategy ‘Phigital,’ which aims at amalgamation of physical and digital operations.
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By GlobalDataDBS India’s Phigital approach aims at improving net interest margin through its lower deposit costs and better yields.
According to Business Standard, DBS India has combined deposits worth of S$9bn and net advances at S$5.6bn by the end of December 2020.
DBS Bank has entered Indian banking sector in March 2019 by launching a locally incorporated wholly owned subsidiary.
