ICICI Bank 2014 Annual Report Download - page 7

ICICI Bank has always leveraged technology to create
new paradigms in financial services in India. We have
continued to launch a number of new initiatives in
recent years. At March 31, 2014, we had 101 fully
electronic Touch Banking branches across 33 cities.
These branches give customers the ability to complete
their banking transactions at their convenience and
also access 24x7 customer service support. During the
year, we launched our mobile branch service, whereby
we achieve deeper penetration of our services in
rural locations. We strengthened our presence on
social media through Pockets on Facebook, a unique
solution which allows our customers to carry out
banking transactions while on Facebook. We launched
Tab Banking, which enables our customers to open
accounts or apply for loans at a time and place of
their convenience. We invested in our internet and
mobile banking platforms to improve the customer
experience, and leveraged technology to provide
banking solutions to the government sector.
Our subsidiaries also achieved healthy performance in
fiscal 2014. Our life insurance subsidiary sustained its
profitability and maintained its position as the largest
private sector life insurer in the country. Our general
insurance subsidiary saw strong improvement in
profitability in fiscal 2014 while maintaining its market
leadership position among private players. Our asset
management subsidiary became the second largest
mutual fund manager in the country in fiscal 2014, and
was recognised for its strong fund performance. Our
other domestic subsidiaries continued to maintain their
profitability, despite the volatility in financial markets.
Our overseas banking subsidiaries in UK and Canada,
after a period of consolidation, have seen selective
growth in business along with an improvement in
profitability. We have also focused on optimising the
capital levels in these businesses through repatriation
of capital and dividend payouts.
The ICICI Group remains committed towards nation
building and contributing to society. We have
continued to focus on the areas of elementary
education, healthcare, sustainable livelihood through
skill development and financial inclusion. In October
2013, we launched a major initiative in the area of
sustainable livelihoods by setting up the ICICI Academy
for Skills for imparting vocational training to youth from
lower income segments. The Academy currently has
nine training centres spread across the country. Over
2,400 youth have joined various courses across these
centres since October 2013, of whom over 1,000 have
already completed their training. Around 35% of the
trainees are young women. All the candidates who
have completed their training have been employed
by various companies and businesses, apart from a
few who have opted for self-employment. The Bank
has also continued to make progress in its financial
inclusion initiatives. At March 31, 2014 the Bank had
opened 448 branches in unbanked rural areas. Our
financial inclusion plan covered over 15,500 villages
and we had 17.8 million financial inclusion accounts.
During the year, we achieved the milestone of one
million women beneficiaries under our Self Help
Group programme.
In summary, fiscal 2014 was a year in which we
focused on further strengthening our businesses,
network, technological capabilities and operating
and financial parameters. At the same time we
were cognizant of the risks in the environment and
calibrated our approach accordingly. Our outlook for
the future is positive – we believe that the formation
of a stable government with a focus on growth will
help realise India’s vast potential. Our strong and
diversified franchise, large distribution network,
healthy capital position and sustained improvements
in our balance sheet & profitability profile give us the
ability to leverage opportunities for profitable growth.
I look forward to your continued support in taking
your Bank forward on this journey of sustainable and
profitable growth.
With best wishes,
Chanda Kochhar
Annual Report 2013-2014 5