SBI forays into general insurance with Australia's IAG

State Bank of India (SBI) is all set to join hands with Insurance Australia Group (IAG) by next month. As reported by Business Line, a senior SBI official said, "We are currently working on the structure of the joint venture agreement. We expect to finalize the operating structure by September. Once a mutual agreement is reached, the new company is expected to get operational in the next three to six months."

Both SBI and AIG are expected to sign agreement this year by May to form a new a company for its proposed insurance business. SBI would hold 74% stake and the remaining stake will remain with AIG.

The term and condition for this joint venture has not been disclosed yet. The join venture company is expected to give cut throat competition to the existing players in the market like United India Insurance, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance and National Insurance as these companies hold a major share of the business.