Federal Bank will be the third partner in the life insurance joint venture of IDBI Bank and Belgian-Dutch bancassurance group Fortis Insurance International NV (Fortis) reports Business Standard. 
 
M Venugopalan, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Federal Bank, said, "We will be holding 26 per cent stake in the life insurance venture. Fortis will be holding another 26 per cent and IDBI Bank the remaining 48 per cent." 
 
Federal Bank will be signing MoU with the other two partners next week.   Venugopalan said, "We have yet not finalised on the initial capital base of the company. But in a five-year horizon, Federal Bank might be pumping in around Rs 150 crore." 
 
After signing of the MoU, the bank will be approaching the RBI and Irda for necessary approvals. The MoU between Fortis and IDBI Bank was signed in early March, 2006. According to Venugopalan, the life insurance company might be floated in six months. 
 
Currently, Federal Bank earns around Rs 2.5 crore form bancassurance. It sells life insurance product of ICICI Prudential Life and general insurance product of United India Insurance. As part of its growth plan, the the bank proposes to open 750 branches in three years from the current 472 , he added. 
 
Federal Bank, with a capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 13.75 per cent may opt for a follow-on public offer to fund its growth and acquisition plan. Meanwhile, Federal Bank is close to merging Ganesh Bank of Kurundwad in Maharashtra with itself.

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