ICICI Bank 2004 Annual Report Download - page 2

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Message from the Chairman
The year 2004 is a watershed year for the ICICI group, as it marks the 50th year of our existence.
ICICI was formed in 1955 as an innovative experiment - a development banking institution in the
private sector, in a newly independent nation. Over the next few decades a number of visionary
leaders shaped the organisation into a premier provider of finance to Indian industry, actively
participating in the creation of industrial capacities and providing resources to support India's
entrepreneurs.
While being primarily a provider of long-term loans to the manufacturing sector, we sought to
respond to the needs of our clients in a growing and developing economy by expanding the range
of products and services that we offered to various client segments. During the 1980s, we set up
leasing operations and a venture capital company giving Indian businesses greater flexibility in
determining their financing structures. We were closely involved in institution building and the
development of the financial markets in India. We have participated in setting up a number of
institutions including a credit rating agency, a stock exchange and state level institutions, and have
been closely involved in policy-making over the years. This role of institution building continues
today with our involvement in setting up a commodities exchange and an asset reconstruction
company.
The process of diversification in the 1980s was the initiation of our move towards universal
banking. This gathered momentum in the 1990s with the setting up of ICICI Bank in 1994, and our
entry into insurance (both life and non-life) a few years later. It was during this period that we
identified the opportunity in retail finance, then a niche segment in the Indian financial sector. Over
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