Allbank-PNB JV in Kazakhstan by May

Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Allahabad Bank will finalise the plan for a 60:40 joint venture in Kazakhstan with an initial investment of Rs 100 crore in the next two months.

O N Singh, chairman of Allahabad Bank, said: "PNB and Allahabad Bank have already got the RBI nod to float a subsidiary in Kazakhstan. We will now need an approval from the monetary authorities there."

"It will take another two months to start a subsidiary in Kazhakstan," he added.

Allahabad Bank has also applied to the RBI to set up a branch in Hong Kong and a representative offices in China, Singh said.

The bank is planning to revive its subsidiary - Allbank Finance - and convert it into a merchant banking arm. It has surrendered the non-banking finance company (NBFC) licence of Allbank Finance to the RBI. Allbank Finance has a capital base of Rs 60 crore.

"Though RBI had asked the bank to liquidate the NBFC arm, we want to convert it to a merchant banker," Singh said.

Allahabad Bank is also going for a major revamp process, and has engaged Ernst & Young to assist it to transform into a tech-savvy bank within the next two years. "We have earmarked Rs 300 crore investment for IT upgradation," Singh said.