LIC had sought the approval as per the regulatory requirement – The RBI norms mandate that every person or an entity who intends to make an acquisition in Private Banks of more than 5% stake, prior approval is needed from the Central Bank.
Key points to note –
- LIC currently owns 4.95% in IndusInd.
- Approval has been given by RBI to increase the same to 9.99%.
- Approval is valid for one year.
Whether LIC will actually increase it’s stake in the bank is anybody’s guess.
Even if it decides to increase – timelines, extent of increase and the mechanism (primary or secondary) is unclear at this stage.
Recently, the Promoters (Hindujas) had also communicated their interest to increase stake in the bank.