MUMBAI, MARCH 25: After a long delay, India and Singapore have finally opened up their banking sectors to one another as per the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which came into being in 2005. As part of the deal, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday allowed Singapore’s DBS Bank to open eight new branches in the country. Simultaneously, the Singaporean regulator — the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) — has accorded in-principle approval for a full bank licence with Qualifying Full Bank (QFB) privileges to State Bank of India (SBI).

“This enables SBI to establish up to 25 branches, including ATMs, and offer their full range of financial services. Accordingly, QFB status to SBI makes it the first Indian bank to get such privileges,” SBI said. The MAS nod will allow SBI to conduct retail business in Singapore. SBI’s failure to meet MAS’ rating requirements was one of the key issues that had held up the QFB status.

DBS received the approval to set up eight new branches in Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Moradabad, Nasik, Pune, Salem and Surat. This brings DBS Bank’s presence in India to a total of 10 branches in key cities across the country. The Singaporean bank currently has two branches, one each in Delhi and Mumbai. Earlier, The RBI had taken a tough stand on allowing in more Singaporean banks — especially on expanding rural operations.

DBS Bank is one of the largest financial service groups in Asia with operations in 15 markets and over 13,000 employees. DNS Group chairman Koh Boon Hwee said, “This is a significant milestone for DBS Group as we can now extend our footprint in India. This is a key market for DBS and we are delighted to be able to serve customers in India through a larger and deeper banking network across 10 cities.”

“DBS’ competitive advantage lies in our strong regional customer franchise, in-depth cultural insights and strong banking expertise developed over 40 years of doing business in Asia,” he added.