Synd Bank targets Rs 200 cr biz from bancassurance

Manipal-based public sector bank Syndicate Bank aims to achieve Rs 200 crore of turnover from its bancassurance business in fiscal 2006-07. This will give the bank a total commission of Rs 30 crore.

The bank, which has a tie-up with Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co Ltd for redistribution of the latter's insurance products, has achieved a Rs 100 crore turnover. In the first two years of the tieup, the bank earned a commission of Rs 6.5 crore, bank chairman and managing director N Kantha Kumar said.

Kumar was speaking to reporters after signing the memoranda of understanding between Bajaj Allianz and seven regional rural banks sponsored by Syndicate Bank.

He said that the bank was enroute to earning a commission of Rs 15 crore this present fiscal by distributing insurance products. The bank plans to double the number of dedicated staff to sell insurance products from the present 150 to 300 next fiscal.

The bank has collected Rs 50 crore as premium in 2004-05, whereas during the first eight months of the present fiscal it had already mobilised Rs 40 crore as premium, he said.

In addition to the bank's insurance business, the seven RRBs sponsored by Syndicate Bank are expected to mobilise Rs 60-70 crore next fiscal, Kantha Kumar said.

On the signing of MoUs between Bajaj Allianz and its RRBs, he said, "Syndicate Bank has already emerged second among the nationalised banks after State Bank of India in the bancassurance business. The present tie-up will take the bank to even greater heights."