Bajaj Finserv eyes banking biz, says advisory biz by end-2010

MUMBAI: The Bajaj Group is gearing up to enter the banking business and considering applying for a licence through its financial services arm--Bajaj Finserv, a top company official said.

Bajaj Finserv's keenness to enter banking stems from the fact that the Union Finance Ministry is understood to be considering allowing high-performance NBFCs to convert themselves into banks.

"We are keen to enter the banking business and will consider applying for a licence once the Reserve Bank comes out with regulations allowing non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to convert themselves into banks," Bajaj Finserv's Managing Director, Sanjiv Bajaj, told PTI here today.

Presently, all Bajaj group financial services businesses are conducted under the Bajaj Finserv umbrella with Bajaj Auto Finance being its NBFC.

"The banking entity will either be a subsidiary of Bajaj Finserv or an independent company--we will take a call on this once the guidelines are released," Bajaj said.

Funding for the banking business would not be a problem as "we are sitting on Rs 900-crore of cash and investments and zero-debt," he said, adding "having a bank will transform Bajaj Finserv into a financial one-stop shop for customers."