Public sector lender, Union Bank of India is planning to establish a subsidiary in UK so as to give fuel to its plans of overseas expansion.

"The bank already has a representative office in London. We want to upgrade our operations there. The subsidiary route is preferred over opening branches of the Indian entity," M V Nair, chairman and managing director said.

According to an official of the bank, the rules for opening a branch in India are far more stringent than setting up an overseas branch.

Nair has said that the proposal for the same has been placed in front of the board.

Many banks see the subsidiary route as a viable and beneficial option for international business. PNB and ICICI Bank had also taken this route to broaden their presence in UK. State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Bank of India have network of branches in UK.

Union Bank has had a branch in Hong Kong for the past two years. The bank came up with offices in Sydney (Australia) and Beijing (China) in 2009-10.

It has offices in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) also.