LIC signs bankassurance deal with Punjab National Bank
18 Mar 2009
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has signed a strategic deal with Punjab National Bank (PNB) to sell its various insurance products through bank branches.
LIC chairman T S Vijayan and PNB chairman and managing director K C Chakrabarty signed the deal today.
LIC has so far signed deals with 31 banks, both under the corporate agency model and the referral model, for developing bancassurance.
Cashing in on the current fall in stock values, LIC also increased its stake in as many as 11 firms, including the country's largest lender, SBI, through open market transactions worth over Rs6,400 crore.
The country's largest financial institution has hiked its stake in seven companies to nearly 10 per cent, while it has raised its holding in another four in the range of 3-7 per cent.
At current market prices, the value of these transactions total Rs6,450 crore.
Domestic institutional investors, especially cash-rich insurance companies, are picking up stocks as they are attractive at existing levels.