French banking major BNP Paribas has decided to shut down its wealth management business in India that has assets under management of USD 14.5 billion, officials said on Tuesday.
The entity said the move is driven by strategic reasons, wherein it wants to focus on businesses like corporate and institutional banking, and cannot be linked to the COVID-19 crisis.
"BNP Paribas Wealth Management has decided to exit its onshore wealth management business in India in order to focus on areas where its global footprint and diversified business strengths allow it to provide clients with more value-added services," a spokesperson said.
According to the officials in the know, there are about 60 people working for the business in India and they have been given the option to either relocate to other businesses like its wholly-owned brokerage subsidiary Sharekhan, which has products for the high networth individuals or join its offices in Hong Kong or Singapore.
"We can confirm that a number of roles will be affected. As we are currently looking for redeployment opportunities within the Group, it would be inappropriate to comment further," the spokesperson said.
Without specifying the number of clients the arm currently serves, the spokesperson said wealth management clients will be referred when appropriate to Sharekhan in the future.
The bank, which has been in India for the last 160 years, continues to be focused on growing its operations in India and has invested over 800 million euros in the country since 2012, the spokesperson said, adding that it employs a total of 13,000 people in India.
It is setting up an asset management joint venture with Bank of Baroda to distribute mutual funds in India and abroad. Sharekhan is also foraying into the discount brokering category via new subsidiary company.
