TARS Project Management, a Dubai-based project management firm, has announced that it has increased its existing stake in the U.S.-based UMB Bank, bringing its ownership to 33%. 

“This strategic move reflects TARS’ commitment to expanding its presence in the U.S. banking sector and furthering its vision of driving transformational change within financial institutions,” TARS Project Management said in a statement.

The company which is into managing large-scale complex projects across industries has directors which includes Sheikh Klaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an investor and member of the ruling family of UAE, Rohan Menon, a finance and investment professional who had previously headed the finance arm of Berkshire Hathway in Middle East, Ramesh Damani, investor and stock market expert and Sasha Mirchandani, MD & founder of Kae Capital and co-founder of Mumbai Angels.

“Having invested in UMB Bank since 2019, TARS has recognised the significant potential for growth in the U.S. banking landscape. The collaboration focussed on the implementation of conversational AI Chatbots and automation to improve efficiency and provide personalised services to UMB Bank’s customers,” the company added. 

“The introduction of these chatbots have lowered manual interventions enabling customers to perform banking operations with ease independently,” it said. 

“This partnership has also placed equal emphasis on prioritising data security and privacy to ensure all customer information shared with the chatbots remain confidential as per industry standards and regulations,” it further said.

Rohan Menon, Director, TARS Project Management, said the increase of investment in UMB Bank is in line with the company’s strategic expansion efforts into the U.S. banking sector. “This transaction is not only about strengthening our position in the market but also serves as a launching point for our broader growth strategy,” he said.

He said the company has plans to acquire additional smaller banks across the U.S., using this as an opportunity to implement its innovative finance AI platform within the banking industry. 

“Additionally, we are exploring the launch of market-first retail lending initiatives that will redefine customer access to financial products and services,” he added.