CommBank opens first Indian branch

Simon Blair, CBA's head of international financial services, opened the new branch in Mumbai yesterday.

It will initially focus on trade finance and foreign exchange for organisations that trade between Australia and India and service Australians of Indian descent who want to send money and invest here.

Mr Blair told BusinessDay that about half of the roughly 400,000 Australians of Indian origin bank with the Commonwealth.

"As India continues to develop as an important strategic partner with Australia, the bank is experiencing an increasing demand for financial services in India," he said.

The Indian government has gradually opened the market to foreign financial institutions and the Commonwealth is one of many now establishing operations here.

India's economy is expected to grow at more than 8 per cent this year and trade growth between the two countries has been expanding at 25 to 30 per cent a year.

ANZ is also re-establishing a presence after it left the market in 2000 when it sold Grindlays to Standard and Chartered of Britain. The government has approved a banking licence for ANZ but it is not yet operational.