RAPAPORT... The Bank of India officially opened its newest branch in the heart of the Antwerp's diamond district. Bank of India was established in 1906 in Mumbai by a group of influential businessmen and was nationalized in 1969.

Starting with a single branch, Bank of India grew to include 2,644 branches across India, and 24 branches or representative offices outside the country including London, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Services offered by Bank of India Antwerp will specialize in the diamond trade.

Freddy Hanard, CEO of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, said, “In the diamond business, the financing of transactions is more important than it is in any other sector. The addition of specialized diamond banks provides a very positive impetus to Antwerp, as it does to the banks, especially if you consider the risks involved. The Bank of India’s arrival in our city provides evidence of the confidence felt in our diamond sector, and in particular in the way it is regulated and maintained. This sense of confidence and trust is essential to diamantaires.”

The arrival of the Bank of India represents a strengthening of the Antwerp diamond district’s financial sector. Dexia Bank left the diamond scene in 2006, but now there are three India-based banks in Antwerp.  ICICI Bank arrived in May 2006.  Antwerp was already home to a branch of the State Bank of India.

Bank J. Van Breda & Co., another institution, is making a move into the sector and has just taken on its first client, according to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre.