ICICI Bank 2015 Annual Report Download - page 79

77Annual Report 2014-2015
Bengaluru and Hyderabad to offer ‘ICICI Bank Unifare Metro Card’. The card offers the dual benefit of an ICICI Bank credit
or debit card and the metro operator’s smart card. It is the first card in the country to offer a unique auto recharge facility of
loading money when the balance drops below a stipulated amount. This auto recharge facility eliminates the need to wait
in queues at ticket counters and vending machines.
Another major innovation was the deployment of voice-recognition technology for authentication of customers at the Bank’s
Phone Banking service. The Bank is the first in the country and among the few in the world to use this technology to serve
customers. The new facility enables the Bank’s savings account and credit card account customers to call and request for
transferring funds to registered beneficiaries or pay bills without having to enter the 16-digit card number or PIN. To ensure safety
and second factor authentication, this feature is enabled only for calls made from the customers’ registered phone numbers.
In fiscal 2014, the Bank introduced Tab Banking using which the Bank’s executives assist customers in opening a bank
account at the time and place of convenience for customers. The Bank has now integrated Aadhaar based electronic know
your customer (e-KYC) process with Tab Banking. With this, the Bank can electronically verify an applicant’s credentials
from the UIDAI data base. There is no need to collect physical KYC documents, capture image of customers or fill in the
details manually. The customers can also update their Aadhar number by way of sending an SMS from their registered
mobile numbers or by visiting any branch of the Bank.
In fiscal 2015, the Bank continued to focus on convenience for its retail loan customers. The Bank has digitised the
entire process of offering mortgage loan, thereby making it more convenient and faster for the customers. The Bank
has increased the number of centers offering retail loan products during the year. Further, the Bank has also launched a
mobile app called ‘iLoans’, which allows customers to check their loan details on their mobile phones.
The Bank has a dedicated business unit to service the small businesses. The lending portfolio is diversified and comprises
manufacturers, traders, service providers and importers/exporters. Most of the lending is to proprietorship or partnership
firms and small private companies.
All these initiatives have helped the Bank achieve robust growth in its retail business. The Bank continued to see strong
momentum in acquisition of retail deposit customers and consequently robust growth in the retail deposit base. The Bank’s
savings account deposits grew by 15.9% to ` 1,148.60 billion at March 31, 2015. The Bank’s retail assets’ disbursements
grew by 31.5% in fiscal 2015. The Bank’s mortgage loan and auto loan disbursements grew by 33% and 20% respectively.
The retail loan portfolio (including business banking and rural banking) grew by 24.6% year-on-year at March 31, 2015.
Small & Medium Enterprises
SMEs form the foundation of India’s manufacturing and services sectors. They are an important constituent supporting
the growing requirements of a rapidly changing economy. The Bank believes that to enable development and growth,
appropriate levers need to be provided to strengthen the SME sector.
The Bank, offers a full suite of banking products and solutions to SMEs for meeting their business and growth
requirements. The Bank’s experience in partnering with SMEs has enabled it to develop non-traditional techniques
for assessing credit risk and providing appropriate solutions distinct to their needs. The Bank also offers supply chain
financing solutions and funding to the channel partners of large corporates. The Bank has set up dedicated desks
in 360 branches catering to SMEs and has specialised teams for current accounts, trade finance, cash management
services and doorstep banking. The Bank has also tailored its internet banking platform to cater to the unique banking
needs of SMEs. The Bank continues to focus on technology-based solutions for the SMEs to enable them to access
banking products in an online environment.
During fiscal 2015, the economic environment remained challenging for SMEs in terms of pressure on profitability and
subdued overall investment activity. The Bank continued to pursue a strategy of calibrated growth of the SME portfolio
with higher focus on managing concentration risks, diversification of portfolio, monitoring and enhancement of collateral.
Wholesale Banking
The Wholesale Banking Group focuses on servicing corporate customers through customised financial
solutions for enabling business in India and key overseas geographies. The group specialises in analyzing business and
financial requirements of its clients and providing solutions through various products, such as working capital finance,