LIC would like to hold stake in IDBI Bank: Chairman

The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on Monday said that would like to maintain some stake in IDBI Bank even as the government is planning to divest the insurer’s 49% stake in the bank.
Life Insurance Corporation (Photo | EPS)
Life Insurance Corporation (Photo | EPS)

NEW DELHI: The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on Monday said that it would like to maintain some stake in IDBI Bank even as the government is planning to divest the insurer’s 49% stake in the bank. “I would personally like to have some stake in IDBI.

The whole purpose of picking up stake was for a strategic reason that has not gone away at all. In fact, IDBI Bank has been the biggest contributor in the bancassurance channel for us,” LIC chairman M R Kumar told the media in a press briefing ahead of its mega IPO.

He said that after the listing of LIC, when the company wants to expand its business through bancassurance channel, IDBI would really help the insurer in doing so. Kumar, however, says that he does not have the sense as to how much stake it would be allowed to keep in IDBI Bank, as it is up to the government and the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) to decide.

He also hinted that there would soon be some announcement with regards to disinvestment of IDBI Bank.
Meanwhile, on the question how the LIC would deal with RBI dictate that only one of its subsidiaries – IDBI Bank or LIC Housing Finance — could be in the business of housing loan, the LIC chairman said that if disinvestment of IDBI Bank is not completed within the time frame of complying with the RBI order, it would ask LIC Housing Finance to source the business from IDBI Bank. LIC has time till November 2023 to comply with the RBI order.

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