SBI to divest up to 10 per cent stake in its life insurance venture

New Delhi: State Bank of India (SBI) on March 31, said it plans to divest up to 10 per cent stake in its life insurance arm SBI Life. "The executive committee of the central board has on Tuesday authorised divestment of SBI's stake in SBI Life Insurance by up to 10 per cent," said SBI in a statement.

SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between SBI and BNP Paribas Cardif of France. At present, SBI owns 74 per cent of the total capital and BNP Paribas Cardif has the remaining 26 per cent in the joint venture. SBI Life Insurance has an authorised capital of Rs 2,000 crore and a paid-up capital of Rs 1,000 crore, according to its website.

Earlier this month, Parliament had passed the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 which seeks to increase foreign investment in private sector companies to 49 per cent from the existing 26 per cent, among other things.

Last week, SBI had announced that Insurance Australia Group (IAG) would increase its stake in their general insurance joint venture SBI General from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. SBI General, a 74:26 joint venture between SBI and Insurance Australia Group (IAG) of Australia, began operations in 2010.