PSBs keen on insurance venture

As per the rules of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, a minimum capital of Rs 100 crore is required to initiate an insurance company. Since privatization, insurance sector has attracted a lot of private entrants. Public Sector Banks (PSBs) are the new one to take the plunge in insurance. Since foreign hands cannot have more than 26% stake, PSBs like Punjab National Bank(PNB), Bank of Baroda(BOB), Indian Overseas Bank(IOB), Industrial Development Bank of India(IDBI), etc. have plans to join hands for its insurance foray. This alliance would see another freshman in the insurance domain. The first Indian bank to mark a move in this direction was State Bank of India, which is a JV with French based Cardiff, and it took the shape of SBI Life Insurance. Recently, Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and IOB have announced that they are on the lookout for an overseas partner to form a general insurance company. The next to follow this trend is IDBI Bank. The other banks following the same lines are ICICI Bank and HDFC that entered JV with Prudential Life and Standard Life Insurance respectively.