Federal Bank to buy select retail credit card portfolio of Standard Chartered
Mumbai: The board of Federal Bank has approved the acquisition of a selected portfolio of retail credit cards from UK-based Standard Chartered, the private sector lender informed the stock exchanges on Thursday.
The bank said it would provide more details about the deal “in due course.”
The deal values the portfolio at 1.5-1.6 times the implied equity estimated by the Federal Reserve. The final evaluation will depend on the actual balances at the time of transfer.
The proposed transaction does not require regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in 2026, he added.
Arpwood Capital Private is financial advisor to Federal Bank, Khaitan & Co is legal advisor and KPMG is due diligence advisor. Trilegal is the legal advisor to Standard Chartered.
This transaction will deepen Federal Bank’s presence in tier-1 cities and help Standard Chartered accelerate its strategy of focusing on the affluent segment in India, the banks’ joint statement said.
Federal Bank will acquire approximately 450,000 credit cards from Standard Chartered, adding to its existing base of 800,000 non-co-branded cards and 1.3 million co-branded cards. Approximately 75% of the acquired card base is concentrated in the top eight cities of India.
“The portfolio we have acquired consists of high-quality, highly experienced active credit card users and is concentrated in markets that are aligned with our strategy. This further accelerates the growth of our already fast-growing card business,” Federal Bank’s general manager and chief executive officer, KVS Manian, said in the statement.
Federal Bank’s credit card portfolio ₹4,368 crore as of end-March 2026, up 2.3% quarter-on-quarter and 23% year-on-year. The bank had 2.22 million credit cards in force at the end of the last fiscal year, and its credit card spending in March 2026 was as follows: ₹2,675 crore, according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Standard Chartered does not disclose its independent credit card book. However, its unsecured loans, including credit cards and personal loans, were $296 million (approx. ₹It posted 7% annual growth as of March 31, according to Thursday’s investor presentation.
“Credit Cards continue to be a core part of our offering, complemented by our ongoing investments in strengthening our wealth platform and enhancing our offering for our affluent customers, including the recent launch of the Metal Beyond Credit Card,” said Aditya Mandloi, Managing Director, India and South Asia and Managing Director, Wealth and Retail Banking, Standard Chartered Bank India and South Asia.
In January 2026, the bank said it did not want to push standalone credit card customers and was instead focusing on customers with ‘multi-product’ relationships, retail customers linked to asset solutions and international banking.
According to RBI data, the bank had 640,000 credit cards outstanding as of March 31, with monthly expenses recorded as follows: ₹791 crore in March 2026.
Earlier, Standard Chartered sold its personal loan book to Kotak Mahindra Bank in January 2025. ₹3,330 crore.
