Bank ofAyudhya PCL plans to establish a venture capital subsidiary thatwill handle the company's investments in startups and financial technologyoperators, The Nation reported July 18,citing Thakorn Piyapan, head of the bank's consumer group.

The new subsidiary will have an initial registered capitalof 10 million baht, Thakorn said.

After the new unit is established, the bank plans totransfer its digital banking and innovation business, as well as 45 staffmembers, to the new company to develop its own fintech capabilities. The lenderwill also add 10 staff members to the new unit to oversee venture capital.

Bank of Ayudhya plans to make investments in three stages,initially investing through domestic and foreign funds in order familiarizeitself with new fintech trends. In the second and third phases, the lender willdirectly invest in fintech companies and startups that already have products thebank is interested in.

Meanwhile, Bank of Ayudhya is considering enhancing itsbranches in order to ensure that it can accommodate any transaction that acustomer would need to make. The bank, which has 670 branches, will have 703branches by the end of 2016.

As of July 15, US$1was equivalent to 34.96 Thai baht.