UBI zeroes in on two European players for MF venture
Public sector lender Union Bank of India has short-listed two European players, BBVA of Spain and Belgium-based KBC, to partner in its mutual funds venture.
By PTI |
MUMBAI: Public sector lender Union Bank of India (UBI) on Sunday said it has short-listed two European players, BBVA of Spain and Belgium-based KBC, to partner in its mutual funds venture.
The bank will be appointing a consultant within the next 15 days to advise it on the selection as well as other modalities regarding the joint venture.
"We have zeroed in on BBVA and KBC as potential partners. We will finalise our partner soon and we plan to launch our operations by March 31," UBI's Chairman and Managing Director M V Nair told reporters here today.
UBI officials had recently visited Spain and Belgium to have discussions with both the entities.
The state-owned bank will hold a 51 per cent stake in the joint venture, Nair said, adding that both the companies had been shortlisted after a rigorous screening process.
"Both these companies are major players in their part of the world," Nair said, adding that their expertise would provide great value to the joint venture.
When asked whether UBI had discussions with other players as well, Nair did not directly answer the question but only said that "world-class players are very few."
On who would be appointed as consultant, Nair said that no decision had yet been taken. For its insurance joint venture, which was recently formed with Bank of India and Dai-Ichi of Japan, UBI had appointed Ernst & Young.
The BBVA group, which started its operations in India in April this year, presently has a representative office in Mumbai.
The KBC group was formed in 2005 as a result of the merger of KBC Bank and Insurance Holding Company and its parent company, Almanij. The group is the third largest bancassurer in Belgium and employs around 50,000 personnel, catering to 12-million customers.
The bank will be appointing a consultant within the next 15 days to advise it on the selection as well as other modalities regarding the joint venture.
"We have zeroed in on BBVA and KBC as potential partners. We will finalise our partner soon and we plan to launch our operations by March 31," UBI's Chairman and Managing Director M V Nair told reporters here today.
UBI officials had recently visited Spain and Belgium to have discussions with both the entities.
The state-owned bank will hold a 51 per cent stake in the joint venture, Nair said, adding that both the companies had been shortlisted after a rigorous screening process.
"Both these companies are major players in their part of the world," Nair said, adding that their expertise would provide great value to the joint venture.
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When asked whether UBI had discussions with other players as well, Nair did not directly answer the question but only said that "world-class players are very few."
On who would be appointed as consultant, Nair said that no decision had yet been taken. For its insurance joint venture, which was recently formed with Bank of India and Dai-Ichi of Japan, UBI had appointed Ernst & Young.
The BBVA group, which started its operations in India in April this year, presently has a representative office in Mumbai.
The KBC group was formed in 2005 as a result of the merger of KBC Bank and Insurance Holding Company and its parent company, Almanij. The group is the third largest bancassurer in Belgium and employs around 50,000 personnel, catering to 12-million customers.
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