IndusInd Bank to apply for insurance licence 

Posted on by

IndusInd Bank is set to approach IRDAI for a license to operate in the insurance industry.

In a press conference held to discuss the financial quarter results March 23, Sumant Kathpalya, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of IndusInd Bank, said that the bank will apply for the license. “I think it’s a process that could take a year or two,” he said. When asked what kind of synergies he envisions with the insurance operation, Cathpalya sounded optimistic about the non-life business.

“We have a CV business where we’re in the top three players in whatever category you’re talking about. (So) it makes a lot of sense for us to get into non-life businesses. We like these businesses because they complement our core banking business.

With some of the bank’s peers owning stakes in insurance companies, Catapalya rejected the proposal of being an investor. “I don’t want to be an investor in a company, I want to be the manufacturer,” he asserted. While he didn’t go into more information about the insurance sector’s aspirations, it appears the bank could begin regulatory operations in a quarter or so and may pursue inorganic opportunities once the license is secured.