IRDAI's reported bancassurance capping proposal to hurt growth, analysts say

Sbi Life Insurance

29/11/2024 06:13

** Life insurers HDFC Life  HDFL.NS , Max Financial
 MAXI.NS  and SBI Life  SBIL.NS  extend decline after media
report of regulatory concerns over dependence on parent banks
    ** SBIL slips 1.6%, trailed by MAXI's ~1% drop; HDFL down
0.4%
    ** India's insurance regulator IRDAI may consider putting a
50% cap on insurers' parent banks' share to insurers' total
bancassurance business, CNBC-TV18 reported on Thursday
    ** HDFL, SBIL and MAXI shed ~6% each after report
    ** If implemented, life insurers would either need to
control stakes held by parent banks or add large bank partners
to reduce parent bank mix - Bernstein
    ** Says proposal would trigger a lot of push-back from
insurers and prove to be detrimental to growth
    ** Morgan Stanley says capping bancassurance mix could slow
down industry premium growth materially, which the regulator
won't want
    ** Insurers deny reports as "speculation"

 (Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)
 ((Kashish.tandon@thomsonreuters.com))