Standard Chartered Bank to sell off its crown jewel – Kolkata office

Standard Chartered Bank – Kolkata office

The oldest foreign bank in India, Standard Chartered Bank, has decided to put its 19 Netaji Subhas Road branch office on sale; an 80,000 sq ft space built in the 19th century, for about Rs 110 crore. The bank is selling its crown jewel and taking various other measures to pull itself out of a financial crisis.

The office will move to a cheaper location to rationalise cost and combat these trying times. The London-headquartered bank has come up with a plan to save $1.8 billion cost globally by the end of 2017. “As part of our ongoing process to achieve better efficiency, we are divesting our branch office at 19 NS Road in Kolkata,” an SCB India spokesperson said.

The iconic property is priced at approximately Rs 13000-14000 per sq ft, according to Kolkata’s real estate agencies. The total space available in the building is a little less than 1 lakh sq ft.

StanChart’s financial worries overrun to such an extent that the bank plans to put a few more prime properties in Kolkata on the block.