Morgan Stanley Gets Banking License To Operate In India

Morgan Stanley has received an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a banking license, a leading business daily reported Wednesday quoting a spokesperson of the bank.

The license will enable Morgan Stanley to expand its operations to wealth management, corporate banking and foreign exchange in the country, the Economic Times report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

It will give them the ability to provide a whole list of services like treasury, foreign exchange and corporate banking, and solidify relation with their clients, Ravi Trivedy, an independent analyst, told the Economic Times.

The bank currently offers consultancy services to its clients on takeovers. However, the report said that the bank might not enter retail banking or full-fledged banking in India any time soon due to tough competition from the local banks.

India has a strong banking network with state lenders, the State Bank group, which is a network of eight nationalized banks, and private lenders, the ICICI bank, HDFC bank and the Axis Bank leading the sector. Moreover, India also has clauses on minimum mandatory lending to the agricultural sector and other restrictions on allowing full-fledged banking operations by the foreign banks.