Santander UK signs MOU with ICICI Bank to boost UK-India trade
- Agreement will offer UK companies support to expand into India
- MOU is timely as UK-India Free Trade Agreement negotiations continue
- UK India is among the top four markets of interest for UK SMEs
Santander UK plc and ICICI Bank, a private sector Bank in India today announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to help boost UK-India trade.
Through the partnership, Santander will be able to offer its clients access to banking facilities and local support in India. Santander UK will support Indian corporates looking to trade internationally with a range of financial and non-financial support and access to its international ecosystem providers to help companies set up in its markets worldwide.
John Carroll, head of international & transactional banking, Santander UK said: “ICICI Bank stands out as a pioneer in the Indian banking industry, bringing industry first digital solutions as well as local expertise, client focused solutions and a tailored sectoral approach. This is twinned with a shared belief in the power of our international ecosystems, which will support ambitious UK SMEs looking to succeed in India.
“Next month, we’ll be launching our digital platform to help UK companies navigate their way through the unknown and sometimes daunting path to international expansion. We have already established a significant number of agreements with banks and other key trade facilitation experts worldwide but with India increasing in importance as a destination for UK businesses to explore, adding ICICI Bank and India to our ecosystem means we’re now able to support even more UK companies to realise their international ambitions.”
Sriram H. Iyer, head, International Banking Group, ICICI Bank said: “We are delighted to partner with Santander UK. Historically, India and UK have had strong bilateral relations and India has been a preferred foreign investment destination for UK businesses. The UK ranks amongst the top 10 countries investing in India. This MoU helps to provide seamless banking services for corporates in the UK-India corridor. With our wide network, industry-first digital offerings, and comprehensive suite of corporate ecosystem banking, we are confident that ICICI Bank will support Santander UK and help its customers grow their business in India and make India one of their key markets. This partnership will help us serve the banking needs of the entire corporate ecosystem in the growing UK-India corridor.”
In the latest Santander Trade Barometer (Spring 2022), outside of the EU, India is among the top four markets of interest for UK SMEs. Just last month, the UK Prime Minister visited India, and together with his Indian counterpart they set a Diwali deadline (October 2022) to sign the UK-India Free Trade Agreement. The India FTA is expected to significantly cut trade barriers and help achieve the doubling of the trade corridor between India and the UK. In preparation, British companies are looking to accelerate rolling out their India expansion plans, and this MOU will further support those businesses.
India is already the sixth largest economy in the world and is racing towards becoming the third largest consumer market by 20301. Rising affluence as well as rapidly improving infrastructure, technology, and urbanisation are all coming together to create demand across consumer and industrial sectors
The new arrangement is one of a series that Santander has in place around the world to help boost international trade links. It further supports its ambition to work in partnership with UK businesses to help them achieve their ambitions and expand into new markets. As well as being able to support businesses locally, the bank has a strong international presence thanks to its extensive global network.
For more information on our international support or forthcoming trade missions, please visit our website https://www.santandercb.co.uk/trade-internationally/moving-international-markets.