MUMBAI: In January 2019, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) completed its acquisition of a 51% stake in IDBI Bank, touted as a state-led rescue of the lender owing to its precarious capital position.
Eighteen months later, LIC perhaps has the first glimpse of its investment paying off. IDBI Bank reported a net profit for the March quarter, its first after 13 quarters.
It also reported a sharp drop in fresh slippages, and an over 93% coverage against bad loan risks. From an ailing corporate lender, IDBI Bank is now a retail lender with 56% of its loans given to retail borrowers.
Its operating performance too is encouraging. Pre-provisioning operating profit rose 34% for the quarter even though loan book continued to shrink.