SBI plans to sell stake in insurance arm

State Bank of India (SBI), the nation’s top lender by assets, said on Friday it would begin the process for an initial public offering (IPO) of its life insurance arm, with plans to sell a 10% stake. The bank said in a filing it would explore selling an 8% stake in SBI Life in the IPO, while a senior executive separately said SBI’s partner in the joint venture, BNP Paribas Cardif, would sell a 2% stake. “End of September is the earliest that we can contemplate going to the market subject to all regulatory approvals and clearances,” SBI Life CEO Arijit Basu said when asked about the IPO’s timeline.