Bank of India likely to buy foreign bank by May
State owned Bank of India may acquire a mid sized foreign bank in the next 2-3 months, as a part of strategy to increase its global footprint, a senior bank official said.
By PTI |
MUMBAI: State owned Bank of India may acquire a mid sized foreign bank in the next 2-3 months, as a part of strategy to increase its global footprint, a senior bank official said.
"We are mulling the acquisition of a mid-sized bank overseas. This is likely to take place in next 2-3 months," the official said.
BoI recently completed a Qualified Institutional Placement of Rs 1,360 crore, in which it issued 3.78 crore shares at a price of Rs 360 per share.
With the QIP, the government's holding in the bank will come down to 64.47 per cent from the earlier 69.47 per cent.
BoI currently has 25 foreign branches in 13 countries, and plans to grow bigger in the global market through the acquisition, the official said.
"We are considering all geographies to identify the right target," the official said.
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The bank is also scouting for a partner for its proposed mutual funds business. BoI will appoint a consultant in the next one month. "We are likely to select our partner by mid-this year," the official said. With a total networth of Rs 8,116 crore and a comfortable capital adequacy ratio of 13.85 per cent, BoI is amongst the leading players in the country's banking sector.
The bank has also tied-up with another public-sector giant Union Bank of India and Japanese firm Dai-Ichi for its proposed insurance venture in India, in which BoI holds a 51 per cent stake.
"We expect this insurance JV to be operational in another three months. A new office will be set up for the venture and is set to operate from Mumbai," the official said.
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