State Bank of India (SBI) is reportedly planning sale of shares in its insurance business, as part of its plan to comply with strict capital requirements of Basel III regulation.
State Bank of India chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya was quoted by Livemint as saying: ""We are in talks with our joint-venture partners regarding the listing of the insurance units."
The bank told the publication that it is also in talks with Paris-based Amundi Asset Management, which holds a stake in SBI Funds Management, for a potential equity issue.
The lender needs to raise more than $13.3bn of additional equity capital by 2019 to comply with international standards laid out by Basel III, as reported by the publication.
The government-controlled bank owns 74% of the capital in SBI Life Insurance, while BNP Paribas Cardif owns the remainder.
The lender has a stake in SBI General Insurance, a joint venture (JV) with Insurance Australia Group.