Although ING holds the majority stake in the proposed company, it would be headed by ``someone mutually acceptable'' to both partners, ING head of commercial banking for the region Rick Pfeiffer said.

The two had earlier signed an MoU for a venture in the life insurance sector, in preparation of the government opening it up to private and foreign players.

To be set up with an initial investment of Rs 40 crore, the consumer finance JV has still not been christened, but as Vysya Bank chairman KR Ramamoorthy quipped, ``it will have a reference to both partners''.

The JV aims to take an aggressive stance in the market and Pfeiffer said apart from the obvious network of Vysya branches in the metros, Bangalore and Hyderabad, multiple channelssuch as auto and consumer goods dealers would be roped in to widen the base from 20 centres nationwide. The JV would also leverage the bank's access to cheaper funds.

Its finance schemes will cover all retail segments and product categories including automobiles and white and brown goods. Among the proposed schemes is also one for personal finance.

Ramamoorthy said the existing financial products would be merged with the new portfolio of offering to individuals as well as companies. He said the housing finance division would continue to operate on its own for the present. Its future following the launch of the joint venture would be decided after taking into account the tax implications (including the sops for housing and housing finance players announced by finance minister Yashwant Sinha in the 1999-2000 Union budget).

Pfeiffer said ING would support through the joint venture all operation of Vysya Bank where it could offer its expertise. Although the launch date is still to be fixed with the detailsof the tie-up still being worked out, the two partners are looking at the third quarter as the time frame.

With $500 billion in assets, ING worldwide mopped up $2 billion in profits last fiscal.