ICICI Bank 2008 Annual Report Download - page 41

Towards a better life
International Banking
In 2001, we identified international banking as a key opportunity, aiming to cater to the cross-border needs of
clients and leveraging our domestic banking strengths to offer products internationally. We have made significant
progress in the international business since we set up our first overseas branch in Singapore in 2003. ICICI Bank
currently has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Russia and Canada, branches in Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong,
Sri Lanka, Dubai International Finance Centre, Qatar Financial Centre and the United States and representative
offices in the United Arab Emirates, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The Bank’s wholly owned subsidiary ICICI Bank UK PLC has nine branches in the United Kingdom and a branch
each in Belgium and Germany. ICICI Bank Canada has eight branches including three in Toronto. ICICI Bank
Eurasia LLC has six branches including three branches in Moscow and one in St. Petersburg.
Our international strategy is focused on building a retail deposit franchise, diverse wholesale funding sources
and strong syndication capabilities to support our corporate and investment banking business; achieving the
status of a non-resident Indian (NRI) community bank in key markets; and expanding private banking operations
for India-centric asset classes. During fiscal 2008, we focused on deepening our presence in existing overseas
locations and expanding our operations in key markets. In line with our strategy to establish a presence in
large markets with significant savings pools, we entered into Germany through a branch established by ICICI Bank
UK PLC. We have been able to successfully leverage our technology advantage to create a growing international
deposit base. Total deposits of ICICI Bank UK PLC and ICICI Bank Canada increased by 76.0% from Rs. 191.28
billion at March 31, 2007 to Rs. 335.86 billion at March 31, 2008. We also received approval for and commenced
branch operations in the United States.
We have established a strong franchise among NRIs by offering a comprehensive product suite, technology-
enabled access, a wide distribution network in India and alliances with local banks in various markets. Currently,
we have over 500,000 NRI customers. We have undertaken significant brand-building initiatives in international
markets and have emerged as a well-recognised financial services brand for NRIs. We continue to maintain a
market share of 25% in inward remittances to India. During fiscal 2008, we launched innovative products like
instant money transfer and enhanced our focus on customer relationship management and process automation.
Additionally, we also undertook the development of low cost remittance products in non-India geographies with
correspondent tie-ups for disbursements in over 100 such geographies.
Through our international private banking services, we offer various products to mass affluent and high networth
clients based on their financial needs and risk appetite. The offerings range from simple deposits and loans
to more sophisticated structured products, private equity and products giving exposure to the real estate sector
in India.
Rural banking and agri-business
We believe the rural economy has high growth potential and offers large credit growth opportunities. Towards
this end, our suite of products and services is targeted to address the needs of both the farm and non-farm
sectors. Our retail product suite encompasses loans for crop production, purchase of farm equipment, commodity
based finance as well as various savings, investment and insurance products. We also offer micro-finance and
jewel loans. We have also focused on enhancing credit to farmers by leveraging on corporate partnerships. For
example, we have partnered with various dairies to provide financing to farmers for purchase of milch cattle. We
also provide credit and banking services to SMEs active in the agricultural value chain. To enhance our service
quality and product delivery capabilities we have developed a large network of rural branches which is further
augmented by non-branch channels.
Rural banking in India is still at a nascent stage and the deployment of technology channels and modern banking
methods for rural lending continues to be an evolving process. In line with our learnings from our rural banking
operations, we undertook a comprehensive review of and realigned our channel architecture, credit underwriting
processes and account management systems. We have put in place a robust risk management structure to
mitigate and manage credit, operational and fraud risks. Through this, we aim to create a strong foundation for
scaling up of our rural business.
Annual Report 2007-2008 39
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