A memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed between the two, covers an array of co-operation in areas such as trade finance, remittances and services related to non-resident Indians, funding to counterparties' corporate relationships, fee-based products, direct banking and digital strategy, and cross-border debt capital markets and mergers and acquisitions.

"The MoU will leverage the strengths of both institutions and will be mutually beneficial. We have a strong corporate, institutional and investment banking business, which can now meet varying client needs across several geographies," KVS Manian, president-corporate, institutional & investment banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said here on Friday.

ING Bank will give clients from The Netherlands and the other 39 countries where it is active in commercial banking access to Kotak's services in the vast Indian market while at the same time it will offer the combined clients in India the opportunities of ING's international network.

"This MoU is equally important to both ING and Kotak Mahindra because it will fuel both our ambitions for cross-border business growth," said Mark Newman, CEO of ING Commercial Banking Asia.

Kotak Mahindra and associates are significant shareholders in Business Standard Private Ltd.

ING Bank holds 6.5 per cent stake in the country's fourth largest private sector lender.