“This is landmark collaboration for information dissemination and reaching out to investors and stakeholders. The coming together of two important organisations with similar stakes is a good sign. This exercise will definitely help various investors who often fall prey to tempting offers for investments and Ponzi schemes,” Shri Injeti Srinivas, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, said while addressing the officials of Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) and Bank of Baroda (BoB) officials during an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony between BoB and IEPFA held on 4th December 2019 at New Delhi.

While appreciating the efforts of BoB to come forward for a noble social cause tp spread customer awareness and investor education by strengthening ties with IEPFA, Shri Srinivas said that the objective for signing the MOU should be met in letter and spirit, since this will inculcate the habit of educating oneself among the stakeholders and potential investors, while looking at these co-branded collaterals. He further expressed his happiness over the fact that BoB is a torch bearer in this exercise and he expects more banks to join in with same spirit.

Shri Srinivas said that IEPF Authority considers Bank of Baroda as one major entity in spreading the investor awareness to masses and, therefore, the convergence exercise is aimed at forming more of a strategic partnership for a noble social cause, which is, to help people to refrain from falling prey to fraudulent schemes.

Shri Srinivas also said that the mandate of the IEPFA aims to help investors focus on fruitful investments thus help in contributing towards country’s economic growth.

Shri Shanti Lal Jain, Executive Director, Bank of Baroda (BoB), spelled out the presence of BoB and said that bank has a strong domestic presence spanning 9,456 branches and 13,115 ATMs and Cash Recyclers supported by self-service channels. The BoB has a significant international presence with a network of 100 branches/ offices/ subsidiaries spanning 21 countries. Shri Jain said that such association will be mutually beneficial since it will help in enhancing customer base due to spreading of investor friendly messages through working branches. Shri Jain also gave an introduction of BoB’s presence on social Media and Digital platforms. He added that the BoB also uses folk art etc. for reaching out to the customers.  Shri  Jain emphasised that  the MOU signing exercise will be beneficial  for both the parties since it will lead to enhancement of customer base in the bank due to proper investor awareness messages.

Taking a leaf from the ED’s address, the GM Corporate Communication and Wealth Management, BoB, Shri Opinder Kumar Kaul reiterated the commitments of BoB towards supporting a social cause by collaborating with IEPFA for investor’ education and awareness. He said that BoB is very pleased to join hands with IEPFA as partners in progress and helping people to refrain from tempting fraudulent schemes. He said that the BoB would work whole heartedly with IEPFA.

Shri Manoj Pandey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs & CEO IEPFA, while laying the objectives of signing the MOU said that with the signing of the MOU, IEPFA and BoB will help in spreading investor awareness & education by co-branding on various IEC collaterals.

The MOU between IEPF Authority and BoB was signed by Shri Navneet Chouhan, General Manager, IEPF Authority and by Shri O.P. Kaul, GM & CC, BoB.

It may be mentioned that BOB and IEPFA have decided to work towards creation of content (IEC material) and strategic use of all the available marketing channels and brand assets with the BoB viz. placement of IEPFA posters on investor awareness and protection at all BoB branches, placement of digital banners of IEPFA in ATM/ BoB Kiosks/ Access Points, collaboration on digital platforms and social media accounts, showcasing of IEPFA short films/videos on BoB’s digital platforms for customer awareness and fraud prevention, usage of BoB website/ mobile app to publish IEPFA messages on customer awareness and protection. This exercise will also help the customers of BoB branches to have a deeper insight into the initiatives of IEPFA towards investor awareness and protection and prompt citizen service delivery by online refund of claims.

Investor awareness partnership deploys co branded IEC across bank branches and digital channels to prevent fraudulent investments. A Memorandum of Understanding establishes a strategic collaboration between IEPFA and Bank of Baroda to promote investor education and protection by jointly creating IEC material and deploying co branded content across BoB's branches, ATMs, kiosks, digital platforms and social media to deter fraudulent investment schemes and enhance citizen service delivery including online refund processes.