As of June 2026, LIC had a 4.35 per cent stake in ICICI Bank, which is India’s second-largest private sector bank

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has accorded its approval to the Life Insurance Corporation of India’s application to acquire an ‘aggregate holding’ of up to 9.99 per cent in ICICI Bank’s paid -up share capitalThe acquisition of shares should occur within one year from the date of the RBI approval letter (September 4, 2026); failing which, the RBI approval shall stand cancelled, ICICI Bank said in a regulatory filing.The approval is subject to certain conditions, including compliance with the relevant statutory and regulatory provisions, it added. As of June 2026, LIC had a 4.35 per cent stake in ICICI Bank, which is India’s second-largest private sector bank.Regulations do not allow India’s largest life insurer to hold more than a 10 per cent stake in any other Bank as it is the promoter of IDBI Bank.LIC holds a 49.24 per cent majority stake in IDBI Bank. The government is the next biggest shareholder, with a 45.48 per cent stake in the Bank.Among the large banks in which LIC holds stakes are State Bank of India (8.53 per cent), HDFC Bank (4.77 per cent), Axis Bank (7.87 per cent), Punjab National Bank (8.83 per cent), and Bank of Baroda (5.14 per cent through LIC New Pension Plus Secured Fund).Purposeful investingIn a recent interaction with businessline, LIC CEO & MD, R Doraiswamy, said, "LIC has historically been a promoter of several important institutions...As a financial institution, we had to look at various options for investing funds in the interests of policyholders. There was also a nation-building objective, because the country needed to create institutions, and we were part of that initiative.”The LIC Chief emphasised that today, some of these investments are in a position to generate good returns and can potentially be monetised.He noted that LIC had significant investments in institutions such as Corporation Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce, as well as in some smaller scheduled commercial banks, and many of those investments delivered good results.However, circumstances have changed over time, including through bank mergers. When we took a larger stake in IDBI Bank, there were conditions, including the requirement that we could not hold more than 10 per cent in any commercial bank. Therefore, we had to realign our investments accordingly,” Doraiswamy said.Published on September 5, 2026