Life Insurance Coporations (LIC), which has been reportedly planning to make a foray into the banking sector, has hiked its stake in the Chennai-based public sector lender Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) to close to 12%. LIC has bought additional shares of IOB from the open market in different tranches. The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (Irda) had capped the life insurer s exposure to a single company at 10% level sometime back. Though LIC had subsequently sought a review, Irda has not yet relaxed the norms. The insurance behemoth has bought close to 2% stake through market purchase. Post transaction, LIC s ...

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