Reliance Retail and Citibank have agreed to float a joint venture for consumer finance.

The two partners have decided on giving Sandeep Soni, who heads Citibank's new strategic initiatives for alliance and partnerships, the charge of the new venture.

They are expected to announce the 50:50 joint venture in the coming days.

The proposed entity is expected to deal in loans and credit cards for the country's leading retail chain. Reliance Retail has over 1,000 stores across the nation.

As reported by Economic Times, P S Jayakumar, CitiIndia Country Business Manager (Global Consumer Group) said, the company would be introducing a couple of new co-branded cards during the year.

Consumer finance, which includes loans and credit cards, is one of the fastest growing segments in the financial services sector.