IDBI Bank: Chequered past, troubled present and a stake sale at major risk

The financial institution that became a bank has a history that would have made it awkward for the government to sell stake to a non-government entity

IDBI Bank or its predecessor, IDBI, has always held a special place in the Indian financial sector. Way before Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) became the go-to company for successive governments to bail out companies, IDBI performed the same function. India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE), the National Securities Depository Services Ltd, Stock Holding Corporation of India and plenty more have all been incubated by it. At one stage, there was a plan to merge the long-troubled, state-owned IFCI with IDBI. 

All this has made IDBI and its successor, IDBI Bank, the preferred appointment for the big names of the