The government is evaluating revised financial bids from Fairfax Financial Holdings and Emirates NBD for the proposed sale of a 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank, with the process moving at a steady pace. According to Business Standard, the strategic disinvestment process has restarted this financial year after being put on hold following the previous bidding round. The revised financial bids from the two suitors were submitted on July 13, 2026, marking the second time interested bidders have put in financial bids for the stake sale. Government sources confirmed that the evaluation process is progressing without disclosing further details about the bids.
The All-India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) has escalated its campaign against the proposed strategic sale by approaching opposition leaders in Parliament. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, AIBOA General Secretary S Nagarajan sent identical letters to Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, seeking their immediate intervention by raising the matter on the floor of Parliament. The association has already approached multiple government authorities, including the President of India as Custodian of Public Assets, Union Finance Minister, Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, and Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, seeking to halt the proposed sale.
At the core of AIBOA's argument is a parliamentary assurance given by the then Finance Minister on December 8, 2003, that the Government would maintain at least 51 per cent of the issued capital of IDBI Bank. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, the 46th Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, submitted in June 2003 during consideration of the IDBI (Transfer of Undertaking and Repeal) Bill, 2002, noted that the 'general public had invested about ₹10,000 crore in IDBI' and expressed concern over implications of government ownership falling below 51 per cent. The committee recommended incorporating provisions to ensure government shareholding in IDBI did not fall below that threshold. The assurance was central to the passage of the IDBI (Transfer of Undertaking and Repeal) Bill, 2002, which repealed the IDBI Act, 1964, with the government subsequently incorporating the commitment in Clause 4 of the Articles of Association of IDBI Ltd, which was renamed as IDBI Bank Ltd, with the clause stating the Central Government as shareholder 'shall at all times maintain not less than fifty one percent of the issued capital of the Company'.
Currently, the government and state-owned LIC together hold 94.71% stake in IDBI Bank, with the government owning 45.48% and LIC holding 49.24% in the lender. As reported by Business Standard, the government and LIC are looking to sell 60.72% - the Centre's 30.48% and LIC's 30.24% stake respectively. The strategic sale process restarted this financial year after the previous bidding round in February 2026, when bids by Fairfax Financial Holdings and Emirates NBD came in below the reserve price decided by the Inter-ministerial group on disinvestment. The Expression of Interest for the strategic sale was floated in October 2022, with financial bids received on February 6, 2026.
Both potential bidders have extensive experience in the Indian banking sector and have completed necessary regulatory clearances. According to Business Standard, Dubai-based Emirates NBD acquired majority stake in RBL Bank earlier this year, while Fairfax Financial Holdings holds a 40% stake in the private-sector CSB Bank. Both bidders have obtained security clearance from Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and completed 'Fit and Proper' assessment from the Reserve Bank of India. This represents the second time these interested bidders have submitted financial bids for the IDBI Bank stake sale, with the government evaluating their revised proposals submitted on July 13, 2026.
