Hatton National Bank (HNB), which struck a MoU with City Union Bank of India (CUB) earlier this year with the intention of setting up a joint venture investment banking operation in India, says it will take some more time for this project to come through.
Rajendra Theagarajah, Managing Director, HNB told The Sunday Times FT the proposed venture has still not got approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India [SEBI] and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). “We requested the SEBI and RBI approvals for a category one merchant banking license and the entity will be established as a company,” he said. He added that HNB was trying to complete the business case and get endorsement from the Indian authorities within this year, but especially after the Mumbai bomb attacks the procedure has been very slow.
“This may at least take another two months,” he said. He said CUB is well established in Tamilnadu, Kerala, Andra and Karnataka and that HNB is starting with an established client base. “Our Indian venture will have two to three stages of evolution. In the first phase it will be a lean operation which will be a cost conscious exercise,” Mr. Theagarajah said.
He also said that HNB will also enter Bangladesh , possibly next year and that HNB has submitted an application to set up an investment banking operation there. “We want to exploit the opportunities we have there,” he added. Presently Sampath Bank and Commercial Bank have branches in Bangladesh .
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