Standard Chartered Evaluates Acquisition Offers from Kotak Mahindra and Federal Bank for Credit Card Portfolio

Standard Chartered Reviews Offers for Indian Credit Card Portfolio

Key Highlights

• Standard Chartered is reviewing offers from Kotak Mahindra Bank and Federal Bank to acquire its up to 600,000 credit card customers in India who only have credit card accounts.
• The potential divestment is part of StanChart's strategy to reduce focus on single-product clients and improve profitability.
• Kotak and Federal have submitted final offers for acquiring StanChart's India portfolio of credit-card-only customers, who have no other relationship with the bank.

Background

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Standard Chartered has been offloading non-core components of its portfolio in India to improve its profitability. Last year, the bank sold its India personal loan business to Kotak Mahindra Bank for $488 million.

Deal Details

The financial details of Kotak and Federal's proposals are not immediately clear. StanChart plans to retain around 70,000 Indian credit card customers, affluent clients who have other banking relationships with the lender.

Impact

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The acquisition could present an opportunity for Kotak and Federal to scale up their credit card base and reduce customer acquisition costs in a competitive market for such products. StanChart's plan to sell the portfolio of cards is linked to the bank's strategy to get rid of "non-core accounts".

Industry Context

Standard Chartered is among several foreign banks that are scaling back their retail operations in India due to stiff competition from local firms. In 2023, Citigroup exited the market by divesting its India retail franchise to Axis Bank, while Deutsche Bank is exploring a sale of its retail and wealth management business in the country.

Financial Performance

StanChart generated operating income of $1.6 billion from India in 2025, which was 7.8% of the bank's total global income.