Mumbai: Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country’s largest insurer, has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to increase its stake in HDFC Bank, the largest private lender in India.
RBI has allowed LIC to acquire an additional 4.8% stake in HDFC Bank, raising its total stake to 9.99% by January 24, 2025. LIC owned a 5.19% stake in HDFC Bank as of December 2023.
HDFC Bank, in a notification to stock exchanges on Thursday, said LIC has received approval from the RBI to acquire up to 9.99% in the bank by January 25, 2025.
However, the insurer must ensure that its aggregate holding does not exceed 9.99% of the paid-up share capital or voting rights of the bank at any given time.
Shares of HDFC Bank fell 1.4%, closing at ₹1,435.3 on the BSE when the benchmark index fell 0.51%. The bank recently reported its third-quarter results, where the net interest margin on total assets fell from to 3.4% from 4.1% a year ago. The margin has been declining since its merger with HDFC in July last year due to higher borrowing and a lower-yielding loan book.
“We believe that it will take another couple of quarters before we see NIM improvement and core PPOP growth,” said Suresh Ganapathy managing director and head of financial services research, Macquarie in a report.
“Based on our sensitivity analysis of EPS numbers, the stock trades at 13x FY25E P/E and 11x FY26E P/E for an EPS CAGR of 15%+ which we believe is attractive.”
