Banking services to benefit non-resident Indians
Bahraini Saudi Bank (BSB) has announced a partnership with HDFC Bank, which is considered one of India’s leading private-sector banks, to serve the needs of non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Formally launched yesterday, the partnership will now allow Indian expatriates in Bahrain, seamless access to HDFC Bank’s complete bouquet of products and services through BSB.
At a Press conference, attended by senior officials of both banks, Khalid Shaheen, BSB chief executive officer, said, “Catering for the needs of the expatriate community has always been a focus for us, and this tieup gives us a strong platform to deliver quality services to the sizeable Indian community living in the Kingdom. Both HDFC and BSB share a similar service philosophy which helped in rolling out this partnership rapidly.”
Harish Engineer, executive director, HDFC Bank, said, “Thanks to this alliance between HDFC Bank and BSB, our NRI customers will now be able to effect a speedy transfer of funds between Bahrain and India and that, too, at very competitive rates. We expect to serve over a third of the expat Indian population within 24 months.” To make the most of the new product offerings, both BSB and HDFC Bank have set up a dedicated non-resident-Indian desk at the BSB Manama branch that will be manned by staff from both banks.
“This will enable NRIs to receive efficient and expert advice and ensure that their financial interests are in the most professional hands,” said vice-president, retail banking, HDFC Bank, Amresh Acharya, “As and when the need arises, we shall increase the number of HDFC staff seconded to Bahrain. However, remittance services and expat Indian services will be offered by trained BSB staff at all BSB branches from the start.”
HDFC Bank’s parent company, the Housing Development Finance Corporation, has a separate arrangement with Indo-Gulf Financial Services which still stands and which will deal exclusively with housing loans. Both banks announced exclusive NRI accounts targeting the Indian expat community in Bahrain: a BSB NRI savings account to cater for the local banking needs of NRIs and the other an exclusive NRE account with HDFC Bank in India.
By opening these two accounts, NRIs can enjoy seamless Indian-expat banking products and services in both Bahrain and India. Many benefits offered under these two special accounts are being offered to Bahrain-based Indian expatriates for the first time.
The BSB NRI account is being positioned as an exclusive NRI savings account for which no minimum balance amount or fee is required.
It gives customers special exchange rates for transfer of funds to HDFC Bank account, reduced remittance charges and other benefits including a free standing-order facility for regular and monthly remittances to an HDFC Bank account, remittance request through BSB automatic-teller machines, etc. To open a BSB NRI account, the customer need only show evidence of a minimum salary of BD250 per month and open the account through an initial deposit of only BD100. Briefing on the high points of this new NRI account, Rajeev Kumar, head of the retail banking division, BSB, said, “We believe this new BSB NRI account will fill the gap and provide NRIs what no other bank in Bahrain is providing. By going ahead, we will add more features and benefits to the BSB NRI account.”
The special HDFC Bank NRI account allows Indian expats to open an account with a minimum quarterly balance of just 5,000 Indian rupees as against the existing 10,000 rupees, offering seamless access to the HDFC Indian branch, said Acharya.
“We’re offering an instant account-opening facility with a welcome pack to Indian expatriates at select HDFC Bank branches across India. The bank has 312 branches and over 900 ATMs across 161 cities in India.
Meera Ravi
© Bahrain Tribune 2004
