State-owned insurer LIC is ‘in active discussion’ with the Reserve Bank and confident of getting access to the central bank’s debt database CRILC, its chairman Siddhartha Mohanty on Thursday said and rued that despite being the largest debt investor it has no access to the debt data platform.

He also urged the RBI to undo this anomaly to help it tide over the risks of the asset-liability mismatch it is saddled with.

Mohanty said he is expecting a positive decision from the Reserve Bank shortly as it is in active discussion with the regulator to get access to the RBI-run Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC).

Since life insurance is a very long-term commitment, an insurer’s liabilities are long-term while its assets are short-term, and the chairman said not having access to the CRILC data is a risk for the insurer.

“It’s an irony that despite being the largest debt investor, we don’t have access to debt or the national debt database CRILC,” Mohanty said at an economic conclave organised by SBI here.

However, he said that “LIC is in active discussion with the regulator RBI to rectify this anomaly and that they are confident of getting the access”.

“The lack of access to CRILC tilts the balance negatively towards LIC as despite being the largest market participant, we are not present on the panel at all,” Mohanty said, adding that he is optimistic that the central bank will allow the much-needed access to this database as the discussions with the regulator have been smooth and positive so far. Underlining the need for access to debt market data, he said, “When I sit with other market participants, I can sort out most of the issues, and thankfully, my regulator Irdai is more considerate to our demand now. Almost everything is in place now, but need more clarity on access to debt data”.

With over Rs 45 lakh crore exposure to the markets and various market instruments, LIC is the largest financial entity in the country.

When asked about LIC’s exposure towards non-government securities and state bonds, Mohanty told PTI that the national insurer has over Rs 3 lakh crore of exposure to corporate debt. While its equity exposure is over Rs 10.5 lakh crore, the total investments are over Rs 45 lakh crore.