By EMILYN YAP

Seven banks along a 120-metre stretch; the battle for wealth is certainly heating up under the laidback bohemian charm of Holland Village.

Citibank Singapore is the latest to join the fray, with the opening of its 2,100 square foot branch at Holland Avenue on April 27. It has Standard Chartered Singapore and HSBC Singapore as neighbours to its left, and DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and Maybank Singapore on its right. And just across the street is United Overseas Bank (UOB) at Holland Road Shopping Centre.

What is drawing the banks to this small enclave? Certainly, the large number of foreigners living in nearby prime Districts 9 and 10 is a major pull factor. 'Holland Village attracts mainly upwardly mobile locals and expatriates who live, shop and dine around the vicinity,' said OCBC's branch banking head Phang Lah Hwa.

Being just in the neighbourhood isn't good enough; just last September, the bank moved its branch from Holland Close to Holland Avenue, where most of the action is.

The same holds true for HSBC. 'Our clients comprise a good proportion of expatriates, and it makes sense for us to locate our branch where it is convenient for our customers,' said HSBC Singapore's personal financial services head Sebastian Arcuri.

HSBC's Holland Village branch draws both locals and expatriates - typically between 30 and 60 years of age - including professionals, executives and retirees.

Home to trendy pubs, restaurants and shops, Holland Village is also a popular hangout for the young and trendy, many of whom have high earning potential.

This yields not just high traffic, but a market niche that the banks are hungry to tap into. Citibank's new branch 'offers Citibank and Citigold products and services, and targets a broad base of customers, which would include the affluent and emerging affluent segments', according to Citibank Singapore's sales and distribution director Dennis Tan. The bank has been 'very encouraged' by business at its new branch so far, he added.

And the best may be yet to come; when the MRT Circle Line and its stop at Holland Village is ready next year, the hip locale will likely draw even larger crowds.

The new boys are jostling with banks that have been in Holland Village for decades. Maybank Singapore's branch, for instance, began operations in 1963. The early movers are taking the rising competition in stride. With more banks in the area, 'customers will find it easy to shop around for the best deals and the best service', said Maybank consumer banking head Helen Neo.

UOB, which set up its Holland Village branch in 1970, counts many customers who have banked with the branch since it opened. Welcoming the 'increasingly vibrant banking scene', a UOB spokesman said that the bank will continue to improve its products and services to keep up with the changing needs of residents there.

Even without the rivalry, high rents will keep banks - those not owning their premises - on their toes. Orange Tee property agent Danny Han said that asking rents at Holland Avenue range from $12-15 per sq ft, and went up to $17 psf in one case. Landlords may raise rentals even further when construction works clear and the new MRT station opens, he added. While Maybank said it owns its premises, most of the other banks declined to reveal if they own or rent their banking space there.

In the bigger scheme of things, Holland Village is not the only suburban battleground for the banks. Stanchart 'continuously reshapes and reconfigures its branch network' to provide customers with better services, said its branch sales and service general manager Lai Pei-Si. So banks have been growing their operations in the heartlands, with many having a presence in locations like Jurong East and Marine Parade.

Still, there's little to beat Holland Village as one of the most densely banked corners in Singapore.

This article was first published in The Business Times.