ICICI Bank 2004 Annual Report Download - page 3

the next few years, we rapidly grew our retail banking franchise and made retail credit available to
a large customer base, thus giving an impetus to economic growth by supporting long and
medium term asset creation by Indian consumers, in the form of homes and automobiles. With
the merger of ICICI and ICICI Bank, we achieved the optimal legal and regulatory platform for
conducting the entire range of financial services businesses. It is indeed a matter of considerable
satisfaction that we have been able to successfully meet the challenges posed by the merger and
make considerable progress in realising its benefits.
Certain core strengths have anchored our journey of transformation and growth. These are our
outstanding employees, our focus on innovation, our use of technology and our unwavering
adherence to best practices in governance. The ICICI group has a strong tradition of attracting and
nurturing talent. It is our people and their energy and passion that have made our achievements
possible. We have created a performance-driven work ethic that rewards initiative and excellence.
Our focus on innovation and continuous learning from international experience and best practices
has given us the first mover advantage in many areas in the Indian financial sector. Technology has
been perhaps the single biggest differentiator for us; we have been able to effectively harness
technology for competitive advantage. We have created a governance structure with the Board as
its nerve centre, that seeks to balance the interests of all stakeholders and appropriately guide
decision making at all levels of the organisation.
The ICICI group has a vast array of opportunities before it. We believe that we have built
capabilities to fully capitalise on the potential in all areas of our business. While the growth
momentum in retail banking continues, the resurgence of Indian industry and the favourable
prospects for infrastructure development present an opportunity to leverage our strong skills in
this area. We are rolling out platforms for scaling up delivery of high quality financial services to
rural India and small enterprises. Our international operations and insurance businesses are also
making rapid progress. As we go forward, we will continue to be guided by our organisational
ethos of innovation with stability.
During this long journey, we have had the good fortune of continuing to enjoy the support of our
shareholders, who reposed their faith in the Board and the management. The confidence of the
shareholders has been a considerable source of strength for the Board and the employees. As we
step into a new decade of our existence, we continue to rely on this support and confidence, in all
our endeavours.
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N. VAGHUL
Chairman
dickenson intellinetics 5690 2791 ICICI Annual Report 2004