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Arguably the most successful private bank in India, ICICI Bank began its journey two decades ago in 1994, as the wholly-owned subsidiary of ICICI Limited. Standing true to its belief, “hum hainna…” (We are there for you), ICICI Bank’s name is synonymous with trust and dependability. On the basis of its assets (INR 5,946.42 billion as on 31st March, 2014) and market capitalization of 2014, ICICI Bank ranks as the second largest name in the Indian banking, financial services and institutions (BFSI) sector.
Its subsidiary in the United Kingdom has also established two of its branches that are located in Germany and Belgium. Other subsidiaries of the bank are located in Russia and Canada. In the fiscal year 1998, ICICI Limited’s shareholding in ICICI Bank was reduced to 46 per cent through a public offering. Other activities that led to this shareholding reduction were the equity offering that was made in the form of American Depository Receipts (ADRs) listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2000, the bank’s acquisition of Madura Limited in an all-stock amalgamation in 2001, and the secondary market sales carried out by ICICI to institutional investors in 2001, and then again in 2002.
Offering Diversified Financial Services
ICICI Limited was originally started in 1955 at the initiative of the government of India and representatives of the Indian industry, and the World Bank. The intention was to “create a development financial institution for providing medium-term to long-term project financing to Indian businesses”. By the time the 1990s came to a close, ICICI had transformed its business from a development financial institution offering only project finance to a diversified financial services group offering a wide variety of products and services, both directly and through a number of subsidiaries and affiliates like ICICI Bank. By 1999, ICICI Bank became the first non-Japanese bank of Asia to be listed on the NYSE.
In 2001, a significant year, the board of directors approved the merger of ICICI Bank with ICICI Limited and two of its wholly-owned subsidiaries that were ICICI Personal Financial Services Limited and ICICI Capital Services Limited. This move was approved by ICICI and ICICI Bank shareholders in 2002. In the same year, the merger was also given a green signal by the High Court of Gujarat, the High Court of Judicature at Mumbai and the Reserve Bank of India. A whole lot of benefits were derived from this merger. The merger enhanced the value for ICICI shareholders through the merged entity’s access to low-cost deposits, greater opportunities for earning fee-based income and the ability to participate in the payments system and provide transaction-banking services.
The merger also enhanced the value for ICICI Bank shareholders through a large capital base and scale of operations, seamless access to ICICI’s strong corporate relationships built up over five decades, entry into new business segments, higher market share in various business segments, particularly fee-based services, and access to the vast talent pool of ICICI and its subsidiaries.
As on this date, ICICI Bank has representative offices in United Arab Emirates, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
A socially Active Corporation
With a vision “to be a leading institution for the promotion of inclusive growth in India by contributing to the key enablers required for widespread participation in economic opportunities in the country”, ICICI founded the ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth (ICICI Foundation). Since its inception in 2008, ICICI Foundation has consistently aimed to promote inclusive growth in India through focused initiatives in the identified areas including primary healthcare, elementary education, skill development and sustainable livelihoods, and financial inclusion. Prior to this, a non-profit group – Social Initiatives Group (SIG) was established within the bank in the year 2000, which pioneered their work on primary health, elementary education and access to finance.
Admirable Milestones
Recently, in order to commend the job done by ICICI Bank over such a small period of time, it was recognized as one of the ‘Top Companies for Leaders’ in India in a study conducted by Aon Hewitt. Moreover, it was also felicitated with the ‘Best Retail Bank in India’, ‘Best Micro-finance Business’ and ‘Best Retail Banking Branch Innovation’ under the ‘Excellence in Retail Financial Services awards 2014’ by The Asian Banker.
HIGHLIGHTS
- In 1999, ICICI become the first Indian company and the first bank or financial institution from non-Japan Asia to be listed on the NYSE.
- ICICI Bank has been awarded the ‘Best Retail Bank in India’, ‘Best Micro finance Business’ and Best Retail Banking Branch Innovation’ under the ‘Excellence in Retail Financial Services awards 2014’ by The Asian Banker.
- ICICI Bank won the Asian Banking & Finance Retail Banking Award 2013 for the Online Banking Initiative of the Year.
