IRDA may allow insurance companies to buy banks' AT1 bonds

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDA) was considering allowing insurers to buy hybrid additional Tier 1 bonds issued by banks, said V.R. Iyer, a senior official at the country's insurance regulator.

The regulator would take a final decision in a month, Iyer said while talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Thomson Reuters Risk Summit.

Separately, Iyer said the regulator had no plan to ease an existing rule that restricts insurance companies from buying bonds of companies rated below "AA."

Some investors had expected the rules to be relaxed as India strives to get more investments into the infrastructure sector.

(Reporting by Suvashree Choudhury; Editing by Sunil Nair)