Customers can meet in the Sapphire conference room, put away their valuables in the Topaz locker room and freshen up in the Opal dressing room.
This is not a private banking lounge of a foreign bank, but State Bank of India's (SBI) 'by invitation' 4,000 sq ft branch called Kohinoor Banjara, which will cater to Hyderabad's swish set. Minimum opening balance: Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million).
The country's largest lender, which not so long ago introduced Rs 1 bank accounts for the poor in Hyderabad, is carrying out a curious experiment on the assorted group of people that make up wealthy India.
For most of the past decade, banks, especially private sector and foreign lenders, have steadfastly encouraged wealthy customers to stay away from their branches.
Even for something as routine as dropping off a cheque, affluent customers have relationship managers at their beck and call, while tech-savvy clients are encouraged to use services such as Internet banking.
Against this backdrop, government-owned SBI, which promotes itself as 'The banker to every Indian', has gone against the grain.
The crorepati branch in the tony Hyderabad neighbourhood of Banjara Hills will offer frills that include personalised relationship managers, a round-the-clock locker facility, doorstep pick-up and drops.
However, wealth management, advisory and related services - considered de rigueur for private banking - will be provided only at the branch.
"Customer feedback showed a preference for a branch with a large number of facilities. We think interactions in the branch will increase trust levels," said an SBI executive leading the bank's 'Super Circle of Excellence', which is a network of branches identified as having high growth potential.
The bank has set itself an ambitious target as far as clientele is concerned, from prosperous Hyderabad businessmen to Tollywood film stars. It acquired 25-30 clients within four days of operations, the executive said.
Predictably, SBI's crorepati branch has created a buzz within banking circles.
"The branch has become a talking point and, if the purpose was a branding exercise, it has been served," said the private banking head with a foreign bank. "Being SBI, it will have a captive customer base of SME clients, but it remains to be seen what it can do beyond that."
However, private sector bankers said while the strategy might make sense for SBI, dedicated branches for affluent customers might not fit into their own business models.
"If you are a banker to every Indian, then you have to make an extra effort to reach out to a specific segment of choosy customers," said a senior executive of a Mumbai-based private sector bank. "The strategy might make sense for a mass bank. Our experience has been that HNI customers prefer to bank from the comfort of their home."
Most bankers reiterated that pampering customers is not the same as helping them manage and grow their wealth. "(SBI's crorepati branch) is not a private banking pitch.
Most private banking clients are not swayed by such things and chose a bank based on the platform and quality of advisory services," said another foreign banker.
However, going by the experience of Axis Bank, there is a demand for exclusive branches. According to Sonu Bhasin, President of Retail Financial Services at Axis, the bank plans to increase the number of priority banking branches from 10 to 25 by the end of the financial year.
"There has been a very positive response to our branches. Premium customers who are from out of town and do not have offices in that particularly city find the meeting room facility especially useful," Bhasin said.
"Regulations do not permit any business transactions apart from banking transactions, but apart from that, the facility can be used for a host of things," Bhasin said.
