Canara Bank gets nod to insure lives

By OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore, May 8: Canara Bank, HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Limited, and Oriental Bank of Commerce were today granted a licence by the Regulator (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) to jointly launch a life insurance company in India. The new company, to be called ‘Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Limited’, has already been capitalised at Rs. 325 crore.

Canara Bank chief MBN Rao, who will be the chairman of the board of the insurance company, said: "All the shareholders are deeply committed to the Indian life insurance market and are pleased to receive the certificate of registration. Alongside the regulatory approval, a project team has been established in Gurgaon to build the significant operational and sales support capability that will be needed to serve the immense distribution reach of the shareholders."

David L Fried, chairman-CEO of HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Limited, said, "With the support of Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce, and HSBC’s insurance expertise, we have made significant progress in getting the company ready to operate’’.

Oriental Bank of Commerce CMD Alok K Misra, said: "Our customers and staff are already tremendously excited about the forthcoming launch. We are taking steps to increase the staffing and support."