SPAIN'S BBVA EYEING STATE-RUN BANKS AS JV PARTNER FOR INDIAN MF BIZ.

MUMBAI, March 3 Asia Pulse - Spanish financial services major, BBVA, plans to start its mutual funds business in the country this year in partnership with a public sector bank and has initiated talks with two leading banks, a top BBVA official said.

"We are exploring joint venture possibilities here with state-run banks for entering the mutual funds business. We are in early-stage discussions with two of them," BBVA's Asia General Manager Manuel Galatas told PTI here.

"Both the banks we are in touch with have a strong pan-India branch network," Galatas said.

He, however, would not divulge their identities but the buzz in the banking industry grapevine is that the two banks BBVA is understood to be in talks with are the T S Narayanasami-led Bank of India (BOI) (BSE: 500112) and Karnataka-based Corporation Bank (BSE: 532179).

BoI has a strong presence across the country with 2,875 branches, while Corporation Bank has a branch network of around 1,000.

A BoI official, when contacted, said that a couple of players were in touch with the bank.

"We plan to appoint a consultant to guide us on the selection of our partner," he said.