ICICI inaugurates NYC branch

ICICI inaugurated on Friday its first American branch in New York City, taking a major step in globalisation.

The New York branch in midtown Manhattan plans to offer a suite of banking services, including working capital, acquisition finance, trade service and treasury solutions to corporates, and savings products to qualified individuals, subject to guidelines.

"For us, this is an important step and marks a milestone in our globalisation effort that started four years ago," K V Kamath, managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank Limited, said during a press conference at the New York Stock Exchange.

Kamath was accompanied by Sonjoy Chatterjee, executive director, responsible for Corporate and International Banking and Chief Representative, New York office, GVS Ramesh, to ring the closing bell at the NYSE.

"India's growth momentum and its trade relationship with US has reached an inflexion point. ICICI Bank's entry into the US market provides it with a great opportunity to service the various opportunities arising from this paradigm shift," Kamath said.

He said that ICICI, which has businesses in 18 countries, including UK, Singapore and Bahrain, has been experiencing robust growth and 23 per cent of its balance sheet comes from global business.

"We have scope for growing our business and we expect similar opportunities in the American market," Kamath said. For the time being, ICICI is looking at the corporate banking market, but hopes to expand services in the future.

"Once we have understood the dynamics of this market, the regulatory context, we would have more products," Kamath said. The branch will look to channel investment activities of Indian companies in the US and vice-versa.

Chatterjee said the opening of the New York branch completes the company's strategy to be present across all major financial centers. "Our focus in the beginning will be on corporate cross-border opportunities and local banking needs of Indians coming to work in the US. There are 400,00 Indians working on H1-B visas. Our brief is to provide a more seamless banking," he said.

ICICI plans to leverage its presence in New York to up its India-based services for NRIs in the US.

Asked if the bank were coming to the US late and at a time when the US economy were in trouble, Kamath said the bank wanted to come to the US long ago, but the late arrival was because of 'procedural delays.'

He said the company would look at export and acquisition and two-way trade opportunities.

"In most countries, our trade volumes are growing at solid double digits. This is where we think we find a niche because we come from a country where growth is about nine or 10 per cent. That creates opportunity and that is what Indian corporates try to leverage," Kamath said.

ICICI Bank is the largest private sector bank in India with assets of $96 billion as on December 31. US regulators have approved the bank to commence operations as a Federal branch in New York City.

ICICI chief K V Kamath (third from left) at the inauguration of the bank's New York City branch

Photograph: Paresh Gandhi