The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to acquire an aggregate holding of up to 9.99% of the paid-up share capital or voting rights in ICICI Bank, giving the state-owned insurer headroom to more than double its existing stake in the private lender.
The approval is valid for one year from the date of the RBI’s approval letter, failing which it will stand cancelled, ICICI Bank said in a regulatory filing on Saturday. The approval is subject to compliance with applicable statutory and regulatory provisions.
As of the June 2026 quarter, mutual funds held 29.60% of ICICI Bank, while insurance companies owned 8.24%. LIC’s stake in the lender stood at 4.35%.
The RBI approval is an enabling provision and does not mean LIC will immediately raise its holding to 9.99%. Any increase in its stake will remain subject to applicable regulatory requirements and LIC’s investment decisions.
The approval comes weeks after LIC received RBI clearance to increase its stake in HDFC Bank to up to 9.99%. As of August 14, LIC held 4.11% of HDFC Bank’s total share capital.
The latest approvals give LIC greater headroom to increase its ownership in India’s largest private-sector banks, even as its holdings in several other lenders are already close to the regulatory ceiling.
Under RBI’s shareholding norms, any person seeking to acquire 5% or more of the paid-up share capital or voting rights in a bank requires prior approval from the central bank. For non-promoters, the prescribed shareholding ceiling is generally 10%, with higher limits applicable to certain categories of investors.
According to Prime Database data, LIC held an 8.83% stake in Punjab National Bank as of August 20, close to the regulatory limit. Its holdings in other major lenders included 8.47% in State Bank of India, 7.87% in Axis Bank and 7.83% in Bank of India.