UTI Bank, Geojit Financial tie-up to offer online broking services

Mumbai, May 25 (UNI) UTI Bank Limited, in association with Geojit Financial Services, will offer online trading services to its clients.

''With the launch of this service, our chain of personal portfolio of products is complete,'' the bank's Chairman and Managing Director P J Nayak, told reporters here today.

Going forward, the bank will extend online broking services to those interested in commodities as well as bullion trading, he said, adding that its four million customer base will form a major user chunk for these services. ''Besides, we are confident non-customers too will avail of our services,'' he said.

Revealing that the bank is also contemplating extending this service to include trading in fixed income instruments in the next stage, Mr Nayak said that the large NRI population in the Gulf, where Geojit has a strong presence, will be a major customer target for online broking now and other services when launched.

The private sector bank is looking at the tie-up with Geojit for offering online broking services as a major opportunity towards customer acquisition.

The new service will provide an integrated three-in-one account (Savings, Demat and Online Broking) to customers, enabling them to experience the convenience of direct trading without the tedious paperwork and dependence on intermediaries in the comfort of their homes or offices, either through the Internet or telephone.

All the bank's customers opting for this online trading service will also have the flexibility to get access to a complete range of corporate information, Reuter news and research tools which will help in making timely investment decisions.

Geojit Financial Service's Managing Director C J George said that ''Its advanced internet trading engine, has the processing capacity to handle transactions from the large customer base of UTI Bank.'' Geojit has a joint venture in the UAE christened Barjeel Geojit Securities LLC, to market overseas investment products in that region. ''There are over three million NRIs in the Gulf and they want to build financial assets in India. They form an ideal customer base for a brokerage firm,'' he informed.

Geojit presently has around 50,000 customers and plans to double it this fiscal, he added.

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