Royal Bank of Scotland is planning to roll out a philanthropy advisory service in India as part of its wealth management business in the country.

Royal Bank of Scotland is planning to roll out a philanthropy advisory service in India as part of its wealth management business in the country.

Maya Prabhu, executive director of philanthropy at Coutts, RBS’s wealth management brand, said that the new service could potentially be launched around July this year. It will be operated by the local RBS team, but benefit from the expertise of Coutts’ charity team in the UK.

“Since the Indian economy opened up in the early 1990s, there has been an explosion in wealth creation, but not everyone has benefitted from it,” Prabhu, who is of Indian descent, told this publication. "Improving education and healthcare are the most popular destinations for philanthropy by wealthy individuals and families"

Prabhu said that there has been a huge surge in interest in the charity sector in India recently and that it is becoming increasingly efficient and professional. She also described life enrichment services such as philanthropy as an important part of her employer’s holistic approach to wealth management.

“Philanthropy fits naturally with succession planning intergenerational wealth, and a lot of the wealth in India comes from family-owned businesses,” she said.

Meanwhile, Coutts is in the process of restructuring its international business. It recently decided to sell its Latin American, Caribbean and African businesses to RBC Wealth Management, and instead concentrate all its efforts on the UK, Switzerland, Middle East, Russia/CIS and selected countries in Asia. The firm had client assets of $1.5 billion ($2.37 billion) in the divisions it sold, accounting for only 2 per cent of all its assets under management.