The decline followed Sitharaman’s remarks at an event in Maharashtra, where she said a government-appointed banking committee will examine whether an “open architecture” model should be adopted for distributing insurance and other financial products.
She added that the panel will assess the pros and cons before taking any regulatory decision, indicating that the proposal is still under consideration.
The comments are significant for SBI Life, which currently has an exclusive bancassurance tie-up with its parent, State Bank of India.An open architecture framework would allow banks to partner with multiple insurers, potentially increasing competition and affecting existing distribution arrangements.
At the same event, SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty highlighted the bank’s scale, noting that Maharashtra accounts for nearly one-fifth of India’s banking deposits and about one-fourth of credit, with SBI operating around 1,270 branches in the state.
DFS Secretary M Nagaraju said financial inclusion remains central to the government’s development agenda and described SBI as “not merely a bank, but an institution,” citing its reach and scale.
