ICICI Bank has implemented a business strategy aimed at building a robust franchise that maximises shareholder return. The bank’s profit has doubled in the past four years and the share price has more than trebled in the same period.
ICICI has achieved a leadership position in retail banking by offering innovative products and technology that enabled wide distribution across the entire country. It has expanded its international presence to meet the needs of Indian nationals living abroad and it is partnering Indian companies by providing the right product and advisory skills to promote their rising global aspirations.
The bank is tapping into the potential of rural India by building its franchise with a mix of products and delivery channels to meet the financial services needs of the rural economy. To this end, the bank completed its merger with Sangli Bank to leverage Sangli’s network of more than 190 branches and roll out its rural and small enterprise banking operations. The merger also supplements ICICI’s urban distribution network.
The bank’s Financial Innovations and Network Operations has introduced an end-to-end low-cost solution in rural geographies that provides customers with biometric-enabled smart cards that allow banking transactions to be conducted in the field. ICICI continues to build a cost-efficient distribution network and improve risk management capabilities. Thanks to these efforts, it improved its cost-income ratio to 40.2% from 41.2% last year, with a 12.1% increase in Tier 1 capital and 22.4% boost in net profits.
“I am delighted to receive The Banker awards for Bank of the Year for India 2007,” says chief executive K V Kamath. “The bank’s strong talent pool is the key to our success and this award is recognition of the contribution of the ICICI Bank team.
“As India continues on its path of high economic growth, we, at ICICI Bank, are well positioned to participate and contribute to this process. Today, we are market leaders across the retail spectrum and have established a global footprint in 18 locations. We view rural markets as the next growth horizon and are creating an holistic proposition to address the opportunity.”
