Centurion Bank of Punjab to float value-added mgt service company

Kolkata, Apr 25 (UNI) Centurion Bank of Punjab(CBP) will float a new company, "CERMA", to offer value-added management services, including legal services, taxation, wealth, asset and estate management.

Speaking at a press conference here today, CBP MD&CEO Shailendra Bhandari said, ''CBP will hold 20 to 30 per cent in this bank while a single or several solicitor firms will hold the rest.'' ''We are the first among the Indian companies to introduce this service. There may be foreign players in this arena in India. This concept is very popular abroad as well,'' he claimed.

Legal experts, solicitor firms and all other wealth management experts would be part of the CERMA team which will guide and help individuals with their expertise.

Speaking about the revenue model, he said all bank customers or those who have some connections with the bank would get the service in lieu of a structured fee. Individual customers might also get services but the charges would be a little higher.

''We are targetting the middle class market and the market potential is huge,'' he observed.

UNI