GE Money keen to enter the Indian banking sector

GE Money is keen to enter the banking sector in India and is currently carrying out a feasibility study on "routes".

US financial major GE Money is keen to enter the banking sector in India and is currently carrying out a feasibility study on "routes" to be adopted before approaching Reserve Bank for approval.

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"We are carrying out a feasibility study on routes to be adopted to start banking operations in India. Once the report is submitted, we will work it out with regulator RBI," GE Money CEO and President (India) Vishal Pandit said after launching a credit card scheme in New Delhi.

Pandit refused to fix any time frame for the new venture, but said GE Money was definitely keen to enter banking business as the group is bullish on Indian market.

Under the present RBI norms, a foreign company can acquire a stressed private bank in India, but there are no clear-cut definitions of stressed bank.

Foreign entities are also allowed to pick up five per cent stake in a private bank. Beyond that, the MNC needs RBI approval.

"Our total retail lending in India was Rs 5,000 crore in 2005 and we expect it to grow by 40 per cent in 2006," Pandit said referring to the operations of India's leading non-banking finance company GE Money.

Lending to the housing sector was highest and the NBFC has recently hiked the floating home loan rates by 0.50 per cent to 7.75 per cent.