ING Vysya Life gets licence

NEW DELHI, AUG. 3. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) today granted licence to ING Vysya for foraying into the life insurance business.

ING Vysya Life Insurance, the venture between Vysya Bank, the Dutch financial institution ING and GMR Technologies and Industries, would start with an initial capital of Rs. 110 crores and an authorised capital of Rs. 300 crores. Vysya Bank will have a majority 49 per cent stake, ING 26 per cent and the GMR group 25 per cent in the venture.

"We are ready to launch services and the clearance paves the way for ING Vysya Life to commence operations. We are looking forward to building a successful life insurance business providing excellent service to customers and employment opportunities across the country," the company's chief executive officer Mr. Ton Van der Star said in a statement .ING Vysya's proposal was pending with the IRDA for the last few months as the bank did not get the Reserve Bank of India's clearance on grounds of its previous tie up with the R K Damani group.

ING Vysya chose the GMR group because of its strong presence in the infrastructure sector and long term commitment in the business they are into, Mr. Star said.

The company would commence operations in all major metros shortly but would be based in Bangalore.

Vysya Bank was the first bank to apply for the insurance licence. State Bank of India applied with BNP Paribas subsidiary Cardif much later and has obtained the licence. Jammu and Kashmir Bank, which has tied with Metlife of the U.S., is the third bank whose application is being processed by the IRDA.

- PTI

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