New Delhi: Insurance behemoth LIC will soon obtain services of retired bankers to strengthen its lending operations and ensure that non-performing assets (NPAs) are kept at the minimum. LIC has set up a cell for its lending, NPA resolution and one time settlement (OTS), people familiar with the matter said, adding that the company will soon get experts, particularly bankers, to this portfolio.
LIC has been into the business of insurance but they don’t have expertise on loan risk assessment and resolution, the people said. A standard operating procedure has also been worked out for repayment through OTS scheme, they added. At the end of March 2016, LIC had a debt portfolio of Rs3.79 trillion, bigger than the loan portfolio of most banks. Its gross non performing assets stood at 3.76% at the end of March 2016, up from 3.30% in the previous year.
ALSO READ: PIL filed against government, LIC for holding stake in ITC
Driven by a sudden surge in single premium policy sales and falling interest rates, the total new business premium of LIC rose 25.8% to Rs1.22 trillion in FY 2016-17 from around Rs97,000 crore in the previous year. However, the state-owned insurer witnessed degrowth in terms of policies during the year under review.
Total new business premium, including pension and group business, rose to Rs1.22 trillion in 2016-17 from around Rs97,000 crore a year ago, a senior LIC official with knowledge of the matter said. New business on the individual basis zoomed 47% to Rs37,800 crore from Rs25,700 crore a year ago. New business on the individual basis jumped 122% from the projected target of Rs31,000 crore in 2016-17. Interestingly, the target was the same for the previous fiscal too. New business on the individual basis at LIC grew by 47% to Rs37,800 crore for 2016-17 from Rs25,700 crore in the previous fiscal. PTI
