ICICI Bank 2016 Annual Report Download - page 8

Annual Report 2015-20166
Message from the Chairman
continuous journey of transformation, diversification and
expansion to become a truly universal bank. The Group
seeks to address every aspect of the financial services needs
– savings, investments, credit, protection and payments –
of each and every customer segment – large corporations,
small & medium enterprises, urban customers, farming and
non-farming rural communities and the under-privileged
who have thus far been excluded from access to financial
services. ICICI Bank has helped millions of individuals and
families achieve their aspirations, as well as played a key
role in the creation of infrastructure and industrial capacity
in the country.
The Indian banking sector is passing through a phase that
is both challenging and exciting. The growth slowdown
that the economy experienced from 2012 onwards has
led to stress on the corporate sector, resulting in both
pressure on asset quality as well as limited new growth
opportunities in the corporate segment for the banking
sector. At the same time, there are robust growth
opportunities in the retail segment and in rural areas; and
in the continuing opportunities for transformation led by
technology. The policy measures put in place over the last
two years have also led to a substantial improvement in
macro-economic parameters and are laying the foundation
for new opportunities for the corporate sector.
Over the last few years, ICICI Bank has substantially
strengthened its retail and rural business, as evidenced
both by its strong deposit franchise and funding profile,
the robust growth in its retail loan portfolio and healthy
and stable asset quality in this segment. It has continued
to innovate using technology to enhance the customer
proposition. The Bank has calibrated growth and reoriented
the strategy of its international operations in line with the
new global environment. The corporate segment, where
the Bank had in earlier years supported industrial and
infrastructure investment critical to India’s growth, has
experienced challenges. The Bank has calibrated growth
in its corporate loan portfolio as the economic pressures
emerged. It is addressing the risks in this segment in a
focused manner, by working closely with clients to ensure
deleveraging, by ensuring that the Bank’s interests are
protected and by reformulating its risk appetite and risk
management framework to rebalance the portfolio mix
towards a lower risk profile. Underpinning the Bank’s
strategy and approach are its operating earnings and very
strong capital base, which enable it to absorb risks while
capitalising on growth opportunities. During fiscal 2016,
It is a pleasure to be addressing my first message to the
shareholders of ICICI Bank as the Chairman of the Board
of Directors. I have had a long prior association with the
Bank as an independent Director on the Board, and I am
honoured by the confidence the Board and shareholders
have reposed in me in appointing me as the Chairman. On
behalf of the Board, I would like to express our appreciation
of Mr. K. V. Kamath, who made an invaluable contribution
to the ICICI Group first as the CEO from 1996 to 2009, and
then as the Chairman of the Board for six years.
The ICICI Group is a financial conglomerate with a long
and rich history of leadership, of service to the nation and
of partnership in its growth. Founded as a development
finance institution in 1955, the Group has been on a