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HDFC Bank to tie up with Chase Manhattan

The board of directors of HDFC Bank today approved a proposal to sign a memorandum of understanding for a "strategic business collaboration" with American banking major Chase Manhattan Bank.

The approval follows HDFC Bank's move to give a no-objection certificate to its United Kingdom-based partner Natwest to sell its equity holding in the bank through a complex deal involving Chase Capital, partners of the American bank.

In a statement, the bank said the Natwest Group is in talks with the Indian Private Equity Fund (Mauritius) and with Indocean Financial Holdings (Mauritius), as advised by Indocean Chase Capital Advisors, for the sale of its stake in HDFC Bank.

Natwest took a 20 per cent equity stake in HDFC Bank at par in early 1995, before the bank's initial public offer.

HDFC Bank's board expressed confidence that the proposed collaboration with Chase would give a further boost to the bank's efforts to give its customers state-of-the-art banking products and services.

HDFC Bank has already received the Reserve Bank of India's approval for entering into the MoU with Chase.

The collaboration will also give the global clients of Chase broader access to local banking products and services through the extensive branch network of HDFC Bank.

UNI

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