India’s Punjab National Bank (PNB) has announced the sale of a 10% stake in Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company, bringing its stake down from 23% to 13%.

This divestment of shares was undertaken through an offer for sale (OFS) during Canara HSBC Life’s initial public offering (IPO), which opened earlier this month.

In the regulatory filing, PNB reported that the divestment resulted in proceeds of approximately Rs10.07bn, with the offloading of 95 million shares at a price of Rs106 each.

PNB noted that the shares were purchased by members of the general public and cannot be qualified as a related-party deal.

The OFS was held on 17 October 2025.

According to CNBCTV18, following the IPO, which was subscribed 2.3-times due to robust institutional interest, Canara HSBC Life Insurance’s shares began trading at Rs106 on both the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange, equivalent to the issue price.

This listing came on the heels of Canara Robeco’s market debut earlier that same week.

The bank’s decision to divest is in line with its strategy to streamline capital and monetise non-core assets, while continuing to maintain strategic ties with important partners in the financial sector.

Recently, PNB reported a 14% increase in net profit year-over-year, reaching Rs49.04bn for the quarter ending in September.

Canara HSBC Life Insurance reported profit of Rs849m for the nine-month period ending 31 December 2024.

Last year, Canara Bank received Reserve Bank of India approval to divest its stakes in life insurance and mutual fund businesses via IPOs. 

Earlier this year, PNB MetLife India Insurance entered into a bancassurance partnership with India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to expand the reach of life insurance products in India.

With this move, PNB MetLife’s life insurance products have become accessible to the public through IPPB’s 650 banking outlets that serve more than 110 million customers.