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Bank of Baroda keen on insurance foray

Bank of Baroda will concretise its plans to enter into the insurance sector in the next three months, its chairman and managing director P S Shenoy said.

"We will be able to select a consultant and then a joint venture partner in the next three months," Shenoy said.

He said that besides a foreign partner the bank could consider taking a third local partner in the insurance joint venture. However, the bank is yet to decide whether it would go in for the life or non-life insurance sector.

Shenoy said that he expects the bank to perform better than last year in terms of credit disbursement, business growth and profitability. "But we have to improve our bottomline and work towards increasing shareholders' value before thinking of another public issue in the domestic market or through ADR," he said.

The bank last year had earned a net profit of Rs 4.21 billion. It is expecting the profits to be better for the year closing March 31, 2000 for which accounts are being finalised.

To improve shareholders' value the bank is taking various technology initiatives involving investment of Rs 2.50 billion to be spent in 12 to 18 months. "We will fully computerise 560 branches by December this year accounting for 70 per cent of our business. These branches will be linked to each other and equipped to do anywhere banking business," Shenoy said. By December 2001, the number of such modern branches will go to 1,000 accounting for 90 per cent of the business.

UNI

Business