RBI says no to IDBI Bank name change proposal

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has turned down IDBI Bank's proposal to change its name following the transfer of controlling 51 per cent stake to insurance behemoth LIC from the government of India.

The board of IDBI Bank had last month sought RBI's approval for change in the name of the lender to either LIC IDBI Bank or LIC Bank following the takeover by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).

"The board of directors has in its meeting held on March 19, 2019, taken note of RBI's communication conveying their inability to accede to bank's request for change of name of IDBI Bank Limited," IDBI Bank said in a regulatory filing.

However, the bank did not elaborate on the reasons for denial by the regulator for changing the name. Earlier this month, RBI changed the categorisation of IDBI Bank to a private sector lender from public sector lender following acquisition of majority stake by LIC.

Following the stake transfer, the government holding came down to 46.46 per cent from nearly 86 per cent in September 2018, while LIC stake increased from about 8 per cent to 51 per cent earlier this year.

In January, the insurance behemoth completed the acquisition of 51 per cent controlling stake in IDBI Bank, marking the entry of the over 60 years' old state-owned insurer into the banking space.

In August last year, the cabinet had approved the acquisition of controlling stake by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) as a promoter in the bank through a combination of preferential allotment and open offer of equity.

LIC had been looking to enter the banking space by acquiring a majority stake in IDBI Bank, as the deal is expected to provide business synergies despite the lender's stressed balance sheet. For the third quarter ended December 2018, IDBI Bank posted widening of loss by nearly three fold to Rs 4,185.48 crore as bad loans surged.

The bank had reported a net loss of Rs 1,524.31 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Total income decreased to Rs 6,190.94 crore for the quarter, compared with Rs 7,125.20 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.