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Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has recommended a final dividend of Rs 12 per equity share for the financial year 2024–25. The dividend is subject to approval by shareholders at the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM).The company's Board has also fixed July 25 as the record date to determine the eligibility of shareholders for the proposed dividend payout. Investors who hold LIC shares as of the record date will be eligible to receive the final dividend post-AGM approval.The dividend announcement follows a strong financial performance by LIC for the year ended March 2025. The company posted a profit after tax of Rs 48,151 crore, marking an 18.38% growth from Rs 40,676 crore in FY24. The total premium income stood at Rs 4,88,148 crore, up from Rs 4,75,070 crore in the previous year.LIC, India’s largest life insurer, continues to dominate the market with a 57% market share based on first-year premium income (FYPI). For the individual insurance segment, its market share stood at 37%, and for group insurance, it was 71%.The Board also announced that LIC has allocated Rs 56,190 crore as bonuses to policyholders for FY25, further highlighting its strong policyholder engagement. The insurer’s embedded value rose to Rs 7.76 lakh crore, up 6.81 percent from last year, while assets under management grew to Rs 54.5 lakh crore, showing a 6% increase.Another notable milestone for LIC this year was earning a Guinness World Record for the “most life insurance policies sold in 24 hours,” by selling over 5.88 lakh policies on January 20, 2025.LIC’s VNB (Value of New Business) increased to Rs 10,011 crore, while its VNB margin improved to 17.6%, showing strength in profitability. The company’s solvency ratio also improved to 2.11, indicating a solid financial cushion.In the fourth quarter, LIC reported a 38% YoY growth in its net profit at Rs 19,039 crore versus Rs 13,782 crore in the year ago period.

Finwizz Financial Services, a leading loan distribution intermediary, and Mywish Marketplaces (Wishfin), India’s pioneering digital lending marketplace, are merging to create a premier omni-channel financial product distribution platform, according to sources. The combined entity aims to become a dominant distribution channel for India’s top banks, NBFCs, fintechs, housing finance companies, and insurance providers, they said.The three founders of Finwizz—Rajeev Singhvi, Anil Mathew, and Syed Haseeb—would continue to hold a controlling stake in the merged entity. Wishfin is backed by marquee global investors, including Franklin Templeton, Sherpalo Ventures (early backers of Google), and General Catalyst. As part of the merger, Sherpalo Ventures and General Catalyst will also become equity shareholders in Finwizz, said the people cited above.Rajeev Singhvi, Co-Founder of Finwizz, is likely to lead the combined entity as its CEO.By combining Finwizz’s extensive distribution network and deep consumer insights with Wishfin’s full-stack digital capabilities and data intelligence, the merged entity is poised to create a next-generation, tech-driven credit aggregation model — one that is scalable, efficient, and customer-centric, said the sources close to the deal.The new entity's leadership will be significantly strengthened, with Wishfin's founders joining forces with Finwizz’s founding team to form a deeply experienced management group.The merged entity, according to the sources, plans to raise capital from strategic investors to fuel its next phase of growth and is targeting an initial public offering (IPO)within the next 24 months,Singhi Advisors acted as the exclusive strategic and M&A advisor for the transaction.Finwizz has scaled this platform without any external funding, delivering consistent profitability, a strong return on capital employed, and operational excellence, firmly establishing itself as a leader in the credit distribution space.Founded in 2005, Finwizz was established by seasoned bankers Rajeev Singhvi, Anil Mathew, and Syed Haseeb. Operating across 4,500 pin codes, Finwizz disburses over RS 35,000 crore annually and issues over 3 lakh credit cards. It offers a full suite of retail credit products, including personal, home, business, and LAP loans, as well as credit cards.Wishfin was founded by Rishi Mehra and Puru Vashishtha in 2015, has transformed digital lending in India through its flagship platform, Wishfin.com. With a vision to empower users to make informed financial decisions, Wishfin pioneered several innovations — including offering free CIBIL scores and helping consumers improve credit health.To date, over 55 million users have applied for credit products via Wishfin, with nearly 10 million monthly active credit score users (6MAUs). The platform boasts deep integrations with leading banks and NBFCs.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)