WASHINGTON, D.C., July 5 -- The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has approved an equity investment of Ind. Rs. 100 million (US$3.3 million equivalent) in the Global Trust Bank Limited, a new bank being set up in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh. This is IFC's first investment in an Indian commercial bank and will help establish one of the first new private banks in India in more than two decades. The Global Trust Bank Limited is promoted by a team of professional bankers, led by Mr. Ramesh Gelli, with the technical support of Hambrecht & Quist, a mid-sized U.S. investment bank, and TA Enterprise Berhad, a leading financial services group and securities company in Malaysia. The Global Trust Bank Limited will be a modern, state-of-the-art, technology-driven bank and will provide a full range of commercial and investment banking services to a rapidly growing corporate and high net-worth clientele. South India will be the primary focus of the bank's business. "It is hoped that the higher standards of customer
service provided by the Global Trust Bank Limited will improve the overall efficiency of the banking system," said Mr. Varel Freeman, Director of IFC's Asia Department, adding that "IFC intends to contribute to the Indian Government's economic reforms and liberalization program by helping the private sector identify, structure, and establish institutions in the financial sector that are innovative and service-oriented." IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is the largest multilateral source of equity and loan financing for private sector projects in developing countries.
