HSBC Holdings Plc is looking to re-enter India’s private banking business as part of its strategy to make Asia and wealth key pillars of its growth.

HSBC had left the private banking space in India in 2015 but a surge in the number of super-rich and a buoyant stock market has made the London-headquartered banking giant explore a re-entry.

In India, the bank is already expanding its insurance and asset management business. "We want to bank mass affluent and high net worth customers. At this moment, the two major pillars we are expanding in India are insurance and asset management. On the private banking side, we are not there yet and that's something that demands a strategic decision this year," Reuters quoted HSBC CEO of Wealth and Personal Banking Nuno Matos as saying. 

HSBC is exploring whether to re-enter onshore private banking in India, where the ranks of the super-rich are growing fast and record high stock markets have created a string of billion dollar start-ups, according to the Reuters report. 

Currently, HSBC is focusing on catering to wealthy Indians from its global hubs in Singapore, London and the Middle East.

Asia is the biggest region for HSBC and on the private banking side it is on an expansion mode. The wealth and personal banking unit contributed 44% or $22 billion to London-headquartered HSBC's adjusted global revenue last year, Reuters reported.

HSBC is ahead of its hiring targets for its Chinese retail wealth management business, said Matos, one of four top executives moving to Hong Kong from London this year as part of the bank's regional pivot.

In China, HSBC is the leading international bank and the plan now is to leverage this to expand in neighbouring geographies. 

Reuters reported that HSBC under Group CEO Noel Quinn is ploughing $3.5 billion into its wealth and personal banking business, in line with its ambition to become Asia's top wealth manager by 2025. 

HSBC's wealth management services include investments, insurance and asset management products. Private banking, on the other hand, caters to customers with investible assets of $5 million or more.