HDFC Bank, India's second largest private sector lender, has been granted a wholesale banking licence by the Central bank of Bahrain. The Bahrain operation will be HDFC's first branch outside India. It will provide trade finance, wholesale deposit products and loan syndication, as well as wealth management. HDFC Bank, whose shares are quoted on the Bombay Stock Exchange, is a commercial bank, which also undertakes wholesale banking and treasury operations. Total assets of the bank stood at $21.2 billion at the fiscal year ending 31 March 2007.