Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to acquire up to 9.99% stake in ICICI Bank. ICICI Bank confirmed the news through an exchange filing after receiving RBI’s letter late Friday. LIC now has one year to complete this acquisition, failing which the approval will lapse.
Currently, LIC already owns 4.35% stake in ICICI Bank, which equals over 31 crore shares. With this new approval, LIC can significantly increase its holding, strengthening its presence in the private banking sector.
As per ICICI Bank’s June 2026 shareholding data, insurance companies together hold 8.24% stake, with SBI Life Insurance owning 1.43%. Mutual funds are also major investors, collectively holding 29.60% stake. Leading mutual funds include SBI Mutual Fund (6.27%), ICICI Prudential (4.40%), HDFC Mutual Fund (3.58%), and Nippon Life India (2.55%).
On Friday’s closing, LIC shares stood at ₹416.50 on NSE, while ICICI Bank shares closed at ₹1,423.70 apiece. Market experts believe this move could boost investor confidence and make ICICI Bank a stronger favourite among institutional investors.
With RBI’s green signal, both LIC and ICICI Bank stocks are expected to remain in sharp focus when trading resumes, making them “stocks to watch” in the coming week.
