On Monday, IRDAI has sought a proposal from LIC for combining its shareholding with a recently acquired controlling stake in IDBI Bank Ltd. According to a regulatory, insurers are allowed to hold only 15 per cent stake in any given entity, but because with a special dispensation from IRDAI, LIC can hold more than the limit in some state-run bank.
IRDAI Chairman Subhash Chandra Khuntia in an event organized by Ficci in New Delhi, said, “we will decide on the timeline (for stake reduction by LIC in IDBI Bank). We are not leaving it to them. I have asked them (LIC) to give a proposal and after that, we will take a decision.”
Last June, LIC acquired a 51 per cent stake of in-debt running IDBI Bank with permission granted by IRDAI. On December, 28, Rs. 14,500 crores were infused into the bank as part of its takeover, then on January 21 another Rs 5030 crore got injected, which made LIC acquire 51 per cent controlling stake in the bank, making the insurer the lender’s majority shareholder.
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