Dubai’s Emirates NBD to expand presence in India with approval for two new branches

Dubai’s Emirates NBD has announced plans for further expansion in India, following approval from RBI (Reserve Bank of India) to open two additional branches.

The bank will open a full-service branch in Gurugram and Chennai to cater to both the northern and southern markets of India, a statement said. The enhanced coverage will enable Emirates NBD to facilitate larger volumes of trade and capital flows between the two countries as well as the larger MENAT region.

Emirates NBD inaugurated its first full-fledged branch in Mumbai in 2017, marking the sixth country where the lender has in-shore presence after UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

The branch offers a range of services to corporate, SME and institutional clients including trade finance, treasury services, bilateral and syndicated loans in addition to supporting NRI (non-resident Indian) customers looking for cross-border wealth management solutions.

Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, vice chairman and managing firector of Emirates NBD, commented: “As bilateral relations between the UAE and India continue to strengthen, Emirates NBD is delighted to expand its offering to Indian businesses and individuals looking to invest and do business in the MENAT region. In addition to a shared economic vision and compatible regional outlooks, the UAE and India are each other’s largest trading partners, positioning Emirates NBD as the only UAE-based bank with physical presence across all of India’s important trade corridors across the MENAT region and through to Asia and the United Kingdom (UK).”

Indians constitute the largest expatriate community in UAE and a more than a third of Emirates NBD’s customer base are Indian expats. The bank‘s 60-second online funds transfer service to India, DirectRemit, has facilitated over Dhs5bn of NRI remittance flows to date this year.

Emirates NBD reported Dhs4.8bn in net profit for H1 2021, up 17 per cent year-on-year from Dhs4.09bn recorded during H1 2020.

Read: Dubai’s Emirates NBD reports 17% year-on-year rise in net profit for H1 2021