IDBI Bank scraps plan to sell home finance unit

MUMBAI (Reuters) - State-owned IDBI Bank has scrapped plans to sell its wholly-owned unit IDBI Home Finance, its top official said on Wednesday.

"It (IDBI Home Finance) will continue to be a 100 percent subsidiary at present. We have scrapped plans to sell the unit," Yogesh Agarwal, chairman and managing director of IDBI Bank said on the sidelines of a banking conference.

The federal government did not approve the plan to sell the unit, he said, without providing details.

The bank started the sell off process a year back as it was leading to duplication of operations, an analyst at a Mumbai-based brokerage who did not want to be named.

The bank had also invited bids for the unit, he said.

Agarwal also said the bank was looking at acquisition opportunities and is in the process of identifying targets.

"We have enough capital to fund acquisitions," he said.

The lender also expects credit offtake to pick by end-December.

"We are hopeful of maintaining the loan growth target of 18 percent by the end of the financial year," said Agarwal.