Hyderabad:
If you have a crore to deposit, chances are most banks would roll out the red carpet for you. Well, this is not "most banks." This one in Hyderabad has only crorepatis as its clients, and somewhat interestingly, it's a branch of the State Bank of India.
Hyderabad's version of the Billionaire Boys Club is located in the city's Banjara Hills area. Spread over 4,000 square feet, and appropriately called the Kohinoor Premium Banking Centre, it has plush interiors, sofas and nice lighting.
To get your foot in the door, you need a minimum opening balance of a crore.
Fifty people have passed that test. Among them, Vijayalakshmi, whose husband is one of the leading architects of Hyderabad. She's here today to take out some jewelry from her locker. "If we inform them 48 hours in advance that we have to attend some function, they will keep the branch open and we can operate our locker at anytime. We can even go directly to the function from here, as there is a room to get dressed up too."
Those running the bank have a clear mission statement. "This is for high networth individuals where special services will be provided to them because they need them - and we have to compete with other private sector banks and multinational banks in Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. This will help us in doing that."
The bank hopes to have 250 crorepati customers by the end of this financial year. Get out your passbook.