Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is shortly going to hold 51 per cent stake in IDBI Bank. Although the corporation is under compulsion to act as directed by the central government, it is not right to overlook that the public sector undertaking is exposing itself and policy holders’ money to risk by investing in a badly managed bank with more than 27 per cent non-performing assets, the highest among all the public sector banks, as of end September, 2018. It would be better if LIC is entrusted with the responsibility of managing the risk. As is known to many, the LIC has been unsuccessfully trying for a bank licence for long, almost since the time life and general insurance businesses were thrown open to banks and others. The government and the Reserve Bank of India should grant banking licence to LIC with immediate effect or from the date when LIC holds the majority stake in IDBI Bank. Simultaneously, the name of IDBI Bank should be changed to LIC Bank.
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