The Hindu : Business : SBICAP's retail foray

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Friday, Sep 30, 2005

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Business

SBICAP's retail foray

Special Correspondent

Plans to offer portfolio management service; to apply for DP

New outfit SSL floated To begin with 12 centres Choice for customers

— Photo: Paul Noronha

RETAIL BROKING: The Chairman of SBI, A. K. Purwar (right), with the Managing Director, T. S. Bhattacharya (centre), and the Managing Director of SBI Capital Markets, Indrajit Gupta, at a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday.

MUMBAI: SBI Capital Markets Ltd (SBICAP), the investment banking arm of State Bank of India (SBI), on Thursday floated a new outfit, SBICAP Securities Ltd (SSL), to offer equity broking services to institutional and retail clients.

"With retail investors increasingly taking to equity trading in a rising stock market, SBICAP and SBI have decided to cash in on this opportunity to offer retail broking services,'' said A. K. Purwar, Chairman, SBI.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Purwar said SSL was starting with 12 retail broking centres as of now and planned to expand to 30 by this fiscal end.

"Retail broking centres of SSL will be spread over in about 50 cities and towns including metropolitan centres in the next two years. All these centres will be brick and mortar selling points. During the next one year, SSL should have state-of-the-art e-broking facilities as well. For the present, the customers will have a choice to either walk-in or phone-in to place their buy and sell orders with the dealers stationed at the retail broking centres,'' Mr. Purwar added.

The bank would invest Rs. 10-12 crore in the venture. Under its three-year projection, the company was planning to add a clientele of about three lakh investors including the regular customers of SBI.

Starting from the metros, SSL was planning to take retail broking to the entire country. The company was expecting to emerge as one of the top three brokerage firms in the next three years, Mr. Purwar said.

SSL has obtained a portfolio management licence and proposes to offer this service through the retail broking centres at a future date and would shortly apply for becoming a depository participant.

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