Modi Speaks to Carney Ahead of Likely Canada Visit; Fairfax Buys Majority of IDBI Bank in India's Biggest Foreign Banking Deal

India and Canada are marking a busy week. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and a large Canadian business delegation is about to land in India. Meanwhile, Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings has won control of IDBI Bank, a deal that puts Canadian capital at the center of India’s banking sector.

Modi and Carney spoke by phone on Tuesday and agreed to build on the positive momentum in ties, with a focus on concrete outcomes in trade, energy, technology, security and people-to-people links. Modi described the conversation as warm and productive.

Carney’s office said Modi will visit Canada in December, and the two leaders agreed to speed up negotiations on a trade deal. Canada’s High Commissioner to India has said the two sides hope to sign their first free trade agreement during that visit. Carney’s office said the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to conclude CEPA negotiations at the earliest opportunity, supporting efforts to double two-way trade by 2030.

Canadian delegation arrives

Canadian Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu is due in India next week with a delegation of 300 business representatives. The week-long visit will cover several cities in southern India. Other reporting says the delegation is visiting Mumbai and Bengaluru, where Canadian companies are seeking meetings with Indian customers, investors and industry representatives. Carney’s office also welcomed a visit to New Delhi this week by Foreign Minister Anita Anand.

Fairfax takes IDBI

The IDBI deal arrived as the diplomatic push gathered pace. Fairfax will buy a majority stake in IDBI Bank for 528.78 billion rupees ($5.56 billion), the Indian government said on Wednesday. The deal is for a 60.72 per cent equity stake, bought from the Indian government and Life Insurance Corp. of India. After completion, the government will hold 15 per cent and LIC 19 per cent. The deal needs Reserve Bank of India approval.

On scale, Bloomberg called it the biggest foreign investment in India’s rapidly growing financial services sector. Investing.com described it as India’s largest cross-border bank deal, ending negotiations that had run for more than four years. Canadian Press reported the deal at about C$7.9 billion, which is the same transaction in Canadian dollars.

Fairfax plans to fold its stakes in Go Digit’s insurance businesses and in IIFL Capital Services into IDBI, creating an integrated platform across banking, insurance and capital markets. The bank is far healthier than it was when privatization began. IDBI had total assets of 4.44 trillion rupees as of June 2026, and its gross bad loan ratio had fallen to 2.3% from nearly 32% in September 2018. Its shares closed up 9% on Wednesday ahead of the announcement.

Fairfax is led by Indian-Canadian investor Prem Watsa. It already holds a majority stake in CSB Bank, acquired in 2018. The IDBI deal deepens a business footprint in India that the two governments say they want to grow, just as trade talks enter their final stretch.