LIC lost money in 18 out of 21 public sector bank shares in last 2.5 years

Insurer has also made fresh investments since December 2015 quarter when RBI told banks to recognise bad loans

 

Even as the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) looks at buying up to 51 per cent stake in IDBI Bank, its investment record in public sector banks (PSBs) is disappointing.

LIC has lost money in 18 out of 21 PSBs in the last two and a half years. At the end of March this year, the government-owned insurance major had equity investments of over 1 per cent in 21 PSBs but only three of them are now trading at a higher stock price than their prices at the end of December 2015. 

The country’s largest insurer’s three profitable