Bharat Overseas Bank to sell ING Vysya Life Insurance plans

Our Banking Bureau
24 March 2003

ING Vysya Life managing director and CEO Yvo Metzelaar and Bharat Overseas Bank chairman G Krishna Murthy signed the memorandum of understanding at a press conference here.

Says Metzelaar: “Bharat Overseas Bank is a trusted bank with an excellent distribution network. This tie-up gives us the opportunity to leverage its customer base. We are very glad with this partnership, but the real winners will be the customers of Bharat Overseas Bank who will have access to innovative and personalised bancassurance products. So far our bancassurance schemes are being promoted by ING Vysya Financial Services.”

Says Murthy: “Bancassurance is an important new vista in our activities. We have obtained the necessary approvals from Reserve Bank of India. As a corporate agent we will be distributing ING Vysya Life Insurance products through our selected branch network.”

Murthy adds: “At Bharat Overseas Bank, it is our constant endeavour to further improve customer service. Our objective is to provide a slew of financial services products to our customers. In this process, we are tying up with ING Vysya Life to distribute their insurance products. We are aware that banking skills and insurance skills are not fungible. Therefore, we have specially trained a group of officers in life insurance products.”

ING Vysya Life Insurance is a joint venture between ING Insurance International BV, a part of ING group, the world’s largest life insurance company, ING Vysya Bank, with 1.5-million customers and over 400 outlets, and GMR Technologies and Industries, part of the GMR group, also based in Bangalore and involved in power generation, infrastructural development and several other businesses. ING Vysya Life has a paid-up capital of Rs 140 crore and an authorised capital of Rs 200 crore.

Bharat Overseas Bank is a fast-growing private sector bank having its headquarters in Chennai, is owned by seven banks and possesses net-owned funds of Rs 123 crore. The bank has a network of 79 branches in important cities all over India. The 29-year-old bank has a credit portfolio of more than Rs 1,000 crore and deposit of over Rs 1,800 crore from its Indian operations. In addition, the bank has a branch in Bangkok. Its is the only Indian private sector bank with an overseas presence.