M.D. Mallya in Calcutta on Tuesday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta, July 1: The life insurance joint venture floated by the Bank of Baroda (BoB), Andhra Bank and the UK-based Legal & General will start operations in the first quarter of 2009-10.

“We expect to get the licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority early next year and the joint venture will underwrite its first policy sometime in the April-June period in 2009,” BoB chairman and managing director M.D. Mallya said at a banking conclave here today.

The BoB holds a 40 per cent stake in the life insurance joint venture with Legal & General owning 26 per cent and Andhra Bank, 34 per cent.

The BoB is in the process of reviving its non-banking businesses such as credit cards and mutual funds. “We have appointed a consultant for BoB Cards and on the basis of its report we’ll take a call on whether we should sell off or invite a strategic partner into the subsidiary,” Mallya said. However, he didn’t disclose when the consultant will submit its report.

Last year, the public sector bank had sold a 51 per cent stake in its asset management subsidiary BoB Mutual Funds to Italy-based Pioneer Investments.

“BoB Pioneer Mutual Fund will commence operations from this month,” Mallya said.