Canara Bank on Friday said it has approved the process of diluting a 14.5 per cent stake in its life insurance venture Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company.

The bank plans to dilute its stake by listing the company on the stock exchanges (BSE/NSE) through an initial public offering (IPO), Canara Bank said in a regulatory filing. This is subject to the approval of the RBI and the Department of Financial Services, government of India.

The size, opportune time and modalities of the issue will be decided in due course.

Canara Bank owns a 51 per cent stake, while HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Ltd as a foreign partner owns 26 per cent. However, the third partner, Punjab National Bank, holds a 23 per cent stake in the life insurer.

The bank plans to sell 13 per cent equity shares in Canara Robeco Asset Management Company by taking the mutual fund subsidiary public.