Mumbai, Sept. 18: Standard Chartered Bank stands to win valuable branch licences in India and Taiwan after it completes the acquisition of the banking unit of American Express.

In India, Standard Chartered Bank will be able to add seven branches to its existing network.

Standard Chartered Bank is the largest foreign bank in India with a branch network of 81. It has recently obtained an approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to open two more branches.

After the American Express Bank acquisition, it will have 90 branches in the country.

Officials at the bank said though American Express had been offering various financial services in India, it had largely been present in the wholesale and private banking segments.

In the retail segment, it has focussed on the upwardly mobile and affluent customers. For instance, it offers facilities such as saving accounts where the minimum monthly average balance is Rs 20,000. In India, the bank also offers other facilities such as current accounts and term deposits.

Data available with the RBI for 2005-06 showed that American Express had 1,773 employees during the year with business per employee standing at Rs 2.39 crore.

Deposits during the year stood at Rs 2,260 crore and advances amounted to Rs 2,017 crore. The bank had high wages as a percentage to total expenses at 26 per cent against the group average of a little over 18 per cent.

In 2000, Standard Chartered acquired Grindlays Bank from the ANZ Group, that gave it 29 branches in India.

Assets of the bank also jumped after the merger of ANZ into the bank.