The proposed IT subsidiary of public sector lender Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) will go on stream by September this year. The bank will choose one from five front-running IT firms as the joint venture partner for the IT subsidiary.
It has also identified two firms, one of which will be appointed as the consultant to take the bank through the process of negotiations, prior to firming up the broad structure of the venture.
?We are on the job and have shortlisted five technology partners and two consultants. The consultants will do the job of talking with future partners and finalise the deal. The plans is to float the IT subsidiary by September 30, subject to obtaining necessary regulatory approvals,? MS Raghavan, the bank?s general manager, IT, told FE.
While refusing to divulge more details of the shareholding pattern of the JV, he said the bank will definitely have a controlling stake in the venture, which may also go for listing at a later stage.
Through the subsidiary, IOB plans to sell its core banking solution to regional and cooperative banks at a price much lower than existing market rates. It is also eyeing overseas markets like South African, Bangladesh and parts of Europe.
?We already got preliminary inquiries from small banks in Africa and Europe. In places like Bangladesh, there is huge scope for the core banking as there are smaller banks who want to migrate to technology platform,? Raghavan said.