BOI-UBI insurance JV will be operational in 3 months: Narayanaswami

Mumbai, July 25 (UNI) The proposed insurance joint venture company of Mumbai-based public lenders Bank of India (BOI) and Union Bank of India (UBI), in which BOI will have 51 per cent stake, is likely to become functional within three months.

''We expect to start our insurance operations in next three months once the formalities are completed,'' BOI chairman T S Narayanaswami told UNI.

UBI will hold 23 per cent stakes in the JV while Japanese firm Dai-Ichi Mutual Life Insurance Company (Dai-ichi Life) will hold 26 per cent shares.

The trio had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard on December 21, 2006.

Dai-ichi Life is one of the top players in the insurance world, having a capital base of over USD 21 billion.

Apart from the insurance venture, BOI also plans to strengthen its overseas operations.

The Bank has also received approvals to open a subsidiary in Tanzania and a repo office in South Africa which will start functioning in the second quarter of current fiscal.

UNI