Bank of Baroda is entering the insurance market and has shortlisted six or seven consultants to advise it on the project. The bank will make a final choice this week.
"The consultants will advise on a whole gamut of life and non-life insurance," the new Bank of Baroda chairman and managing director, P S Shenoy, said in London.
The bank is likely to team up with a foreign partner for "collaboration on technology and products" in the sector, but it has not yet opened discussions. BoB is also expanding its overseas operations and is about to set up a subsidiary in Botswana and a joint venture in Nigeria.
"Our foreign branches have contributed substantially to the bottomline," Shenoy said.
BoB's London office will be the hub for its global operations, and the bank aims to increase its role in primary and secondary loan syndication. The bank will aim at a leading role in the syndication business using its strong cash reserves.
In addition, the bank is also launching credit cards and a range of new products to help re-position itself in the competitive UK market. It expects to launch credit cards in about six months after negotiations with the giant Link network are completed. Link has several thousand automatic teller machines in UK. Once the deal is completed, Bank of Baroda credit card holders will be able to access a range of banking services from them.
The bank will also offer personal loans to professional and individuals who earn top-bracket salaries. The Bank of Baroda has also launched an `Any Branch Banking' service that will enable high networth customers to transact business in any branch.
