Bank of Baroda Wants to Expand Subsidiaries Before Taking Them Public: CEO Debadatta Chand
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In an interview with Moneycontrol, Bank of Baroda’s Managing Director and CEO, Debadatta Chand, said that the bank is focusing on growing its subsidiaries before listing them on the stock market. He explained that the timing of the listings will depend on market conditions and how much value the bank expects to get from them.
Bank of Baroda Subsidiaries
Bank of Baroda has more than 10 subsidiaries. These subsidiaries play a very important role in the financial sector.
Domestic Subsidiaries of Bank of Baroda
- BOBCARD LIMITED (Formerly BOB Financial Solutions Limited)
- BOB Capital Markets Ltd.
- Baroda Global Shared Services Limited
- Nainital Bank Ltd.
- IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited
- Baroda BNP Paribas Asset Management India Private Limited
- Baroda BNP Paribas Trustee India Private Limited (Formerly Baroda Trustee India Private Limited)
- BarodaSun Technologies Limited
Joint Venture Companies (J.V.)
- India Infradebt Ltd.
- India International Bank Malaysia Berhad
Overseas Subsidiaries
- Bank of Baroda Botswana Ltd
- Bank of Baroda (Kenya) Ltd.
- Bank of Baroda (Uganda) Ltd.
- Bank of Baroda (Guyana) Inc.
- Bank of Baroda (New Zealand) Ltd.
- Bank of Baroda (Tanzania) Ltd.
- Bank of Baroda (UK) Ltd.
Overseas Associate
- Indo-Zambia Bank Ltd. (Lusaka)
Focus on Scaling Up Subsidiaries
He shared that for the past two years, the bank has been working on expanding the size and strength of its subsidiaries. He emphasized that this is a key part of the bank’s strategy moving forward.
“We are clearly committed to adding scale to all our subsidiaries. This has been one of our main focus areas over the last two years,” said Chand.
He discussed about the two important subsidiaries: IndiaFirst Life Insurance and Nainital Bank.
IndiaFirst Life Insurance
Bank of Baroda currently owns 64.98% of IndiaFirst Life Insurance, a joint venture with Union Bank of India (holding 9%) and Carmel Point Investments India (holding 26%).
Back in July 2022, the bank’s board gave approval to sell around 12.5% of its stake in IndiaFirst Life Insurance. This stake sale could happen through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) or any other legal route. However, the bank has made it clear that its ownership will not fall below 51%, ensuring it keeps a majority stake.
Performance of IndiaFirst Life
IndiaFirst Life Insurance has shown strong growth:
- As of March 31, 2025, its Assets Under Management (AUM) rose to ₹30,967.89 crore.
- This is a 14.39% increase from ₹27,073 crore on March 31, 2024.
Nainital Bank
Another subsidiary of Bank of Baroda is Nainital Bank. It holds more than 98% stake in Nainital Bank, making it the majority owner.
As per recent financial data:
- Nainital Bank’s total business grew slightly from ₹13,086.87 crore in FY24 to ₹13,225.68 crore in FY25, showing a 1.06% growth.
This modest increase shows that the bank may need further strengthening before it’s ready for listing. Click here to read more news.
What’s Next?
Chand stated that while the subsidiaries are financially stable and do not require additional capital right now, the bank is keeping all options open when it comes to listing and restructuring.
“Everything is on the table and everything is off the table,” he said — implying flexibility based on changing market conditions.
Bank of Baroda is not in a hurry to list its subsidiaries. Instead, it wants to build their size and value first. The bank holds major stakes in IndiaFirst Life Insurance and Nainital Bank, and will look at market conditions and valuations before making any move to go public. While IndiaFirst has seen good growth, Nainital Bank is still expanding slowly, and both may take time before they are listed. Click here to read more news.
