KBC 14: Which bank has launched a Metaverse-based virtual lounge to showcase its products to customers virtually in July 2022?
A) Punjab National Bank
B) State Bank of India
C) Bank of India
D) Union Bank of India
Answer: Union Bank of India
The Union Bank of India launched its Metaverse virtual lounge on July 8, 2022 along with what it calls an “Open Banking Sandbox environment”.
The virtual reality lounge will initially contain banking-related information and videos before the bank moves on to the next phase of expanding their Metaverse presence. By going online on to the “Uni-verse” what UBI calls its VR lounge, its customers can access information about bank deposits, government welfare schemes, loans amongst other things.
On the other hand, the Open Banking Sandbox will be developed in collaboration with Financial technology startups to create and launch banking products.
The Union Bank of India is also referred to as simply the Union Bank or UBI. The bank was established on November 11, 1919 making it over a hundred years old in 2022. When it started out, the bank only had four branches, but after it was nationalised in 1969, the number grew to 240 branches. Since then, it has acquired other smaller regional banks along with any of their branches.
The bank expanded its reach in 2007, setting up offices in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and in Shanghai in China. Then in 2009, it established a new branch in Hong Kong.
In 2019, the Union Minister of Finance announced that the bank would be acquiring two sizeable banks, the Andhra Bank and the Corporation Bank. The deal to acquire the Andhra and Corporation banks was finalised in 2020.
Now, Union Bank is the fifth largest public sector bank in the country with over 9,609 branches. Its assets are worth Rs 14.59 lakh crore ($180 billion).
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