Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank is one of the largest banks in Japan, while Nippon Life Insurance is among Asia's largest financial services company and already has strategic stakes in Reliance Capital's life insurance and mutual fund units. With the latest move, Reliance Capital joins a host of other entities having firmed up their plans to seek a banking licence, for which applications need to be submitted by July 1 with the RBI. Religare Enterprises has already announced plans to dilute promoter stake to 49 per cent to meet the eligibility criteria, while Aditya Birla group, JM Financial Srei, TFCI and a host of others have also lined up their plans. There are reports that Tatas are also among the interested candidates, while Mahindras have dropped their plans to seek a bank licence. Reliance Capital said that both Sumitomo and Nippon would have 4-5 per cent stake each in the proposed bank, subject to regulatory approvals, while agreements to this effect have been signed with them.