Standard Chartered Bank has entered into a strategic alliance with Mumbai-based UTI Mutual Fund to distribute its mutual fund schemes through the bank's retail branches. Sandeep Das, StanChart's general manager of Wealth Management Services, said: "With the signing of this agreement with UTI MF, the bank has taken yet another step forward to meet the diverse financial needs of its valued customers, under one roof. For distribution of UTI MF products, the bank has identified all its 83 branches across 33 cities in India." UTI Mutual Fund, which manages assets worth INR450 billion ($11.5 billion), is controlled by state-run Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Life Insurance Corp. It is in the process of launching an IPO which is likely to hit the markets in the first quarter of the coming calender year.