Wednesday, 15 October, 2008
DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia's biggest bank, said its Indian venture will close some branches and scale back on its personal loans business.
The Cholamandalam DBS Finance venture, in which Singapore- based DBS Group owns a 37.5 percent stake, is closing 75 branches within its personal loans business, the company said in an e- mailed statement today. The venture plans to focus on vehicle finance, asset management, corporate lending and home equity instead, according to the statement.
DBS Group is proceeding with plans to open 10 outlets in Indian cities including Chennai and Pune even as its venture closes some branches, the company said. Chief Executive Officer Richard Stanley said this month that the South Asian nation remains one of the company's ``biggest priorities,'' and that earnings from India will ``play a bigger role'' in the coming years.
Cholamandalam DBS also plans to fire 200 of its 1,800 employees, the Business Times said today, citing a report in the Times of India. The Singapore-based newspaper had earlier reported the closure of the Indian branches, saying that the venture had 260 branches in the South Asian nation. DBS Group didn't confirm the plan to fire workers in today's statement.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/
