IRDAI allows LIC to buy up to 51% in IDBI Bank

India’s insurance regulator has allowed the country’s largest state-run insurer Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to buy a stake of up to 51 percent in state-owned lender IDBI Bank, according to media reports.

IDBI, which has the highest bad-loan ratio among Indian banks, is one of the 11 troubled lenders identified by the Reserve Bank of India under a so-called prompt corrective action plan that includes restricting branch expansion and lending.