Private lender IndusInd Bank is likely to acquire the local credit card business of Deutsche Bank to mark its entry into the sector, sources familiar with the deal said on Tuesday.
“If everything goes well, the deal could be announced in the next couple of weeks,” said a source.
However, he did not detail the deal size. The deal makes sense for IndusInd Bank, which had announced its plans to enter the credit card business. Last year, the private lender roped in Anil Ramachandran from Deutsche Bank to set up the credit card business.
The acquisition will see IndusInd Bank getting around 150,000 cards from the German lender, where the outstanding loan is estimated to be over Rs 200 crore.
When contacted, Deutsche Bank’s India spokesperson declined to comment on the development. IndusInd Bank Chief Operating Officer Paul Abraham also refused to offer any details on the deal.
“I’m not looking into it. I’ve no comments to offer,” he told Business Standard.
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Deutsche Bank had put its card business on the block as it remained non-profitable.
The number of credit cards in India has been steadily declining since the beginning of this financial year. According to data available with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the number of outstanding credit cards declined by over 10 per cent to 1.81 crore as on January-end.
Apart from IndusInd Bank, lenders including Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank were also believed to be interested in buying Deutsche Bank’s card business. However, most of the bidders opted out of the race as the valuation was considered expensive, media reports said.