BoB in JV to revive MF

Bank of Baroda on Friday signs a JV with Pioneer Investments for reviving the mutual fund operations of the bank, reports BS Srinivasalu Reddy.

Public sector Bank of Baroda on Friday signed a joint venture agreement with the Italy headquartered Pioneer Investments for reviving the mutual fund operations of the bank.

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The bank hopes to clinch a JV partner for its insurance business also by the first quarter of 2008. It has also finalised options for bolstering cards business – to merge it with the bank itself in case it fails to finalise a strategic partner by 2007-end.

With this agreement, the existing BOB Asset Management Company (AMC) will become a co-branded mutual fund called, Baroda Pioneer AMC, with Pioneer Investments holding 51 per cent stake.

"This offer will help us enlarge the basket of our investment offerings to our 2.9 crore customers. This is in line with our aspiration to emerge as a universal financial services company," said Dr A Khandelwal, the bank's CMD.