Merrill Lynch’s Indian division is stepping up its presence in the Indian banking market, according to a spokesman for the US investment bank. The bank, which operates as DSP Merrill Lynch Ltd in India, currently has branches in New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Mumbai, but plans to open offices in a further five cities over the next three years.
News of Merrill’s plans come in the wake of Citigroup’s announcement that it too is expanding in a market that the Merrill Lynch Capgemini Asia Pacific Wealth Report in 2006 named as the second-fastest growing in the world.
“We are serious in building the business outside of the US and Asia is a key growth area for us,” says Rahul Malhotra of Merrill Lynch. “Within that, India is a very key focus area for us.”