ICICI Bank (NSE: ICICIBANK, BSE: 532174, NYSE: IBN) (formerly Industrial Credit

and Investment Corporation of India, Marathi: आय सी आय सी आय बॅक) is a major banking

and financial services organization in India. It is the second largest bank in India [3] and the
largest private sector bank in India by market capitalization. The bank also has a network of
2,016 branches (as on 31 March 2010) and about 5,219 ATMs in India and presence in 18
countries,[2] as well as some 24 million customers (at the end of July 2007). ICICI Bank
offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail
customers through a variety of delivery channels and specialization subsidiaries and affiliates
in the areas of investment banking, life and non-life insurance, venture capital and asset
management. (These data are dynamic.) ICICI Bank is also the largest issuer of credit cards
in India.[4] ICICI Bank's shares are listed on the stock exchanges at BSE, NSE, Kolkata and
Vadodara (formerly Baroda) ; its ADRs trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The Bank is expanding in overseas markets and has the largest international balance sheet
among Indian banks. ICICI Bank now has wholly owned subsidiaries, branches and
representatives offices in 19 countries, including an offshore unit in Mumbai. This includes
wholly owned subsidiaries in Canada, Russia and the UK (the subsidiary through which the
HiSAVE savings brand[5] is operated), offshore banking units in Bahrain and Singapore, an
advisory branch in Dubai, branches in Belgium, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka, and
representative offices in Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa, Thailand, the
United Arab Emirates and USA. Overseas, the Bank is targeting the NRI (Non-Resident
Indian) population in particular.

ICICI reported a 1.15% rise in net profit to 1,014.21 crore on a 1.29% increase in total
income to 9,712.31 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007. The bank's
CASA ratio increased to 30% in 2008 from 25% in 2007.[6][7]

ICICI Bank is one of the Big Four Banks of India, along with State Bank of India, Punjab
National Bank and Canara Bank — its main competitors.[8]

Contents
[hide]

• 1 History
• 2 Controversy
• 3 See also
• 4 References

• 5 External links

[edit] History
ICICI Bank HQ at BKC Mumbai

In 1955, The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Limited (ICICI) was
incorporated at the initiative of World Bank, the Government of India and representatives of
Indian industry, with the objective of creating a development financial institution for
providing medium-term and long-term project financing to Indian businesses. In 1994, ICICI
established Banking Corporation as a banking subsidiary. Formerly known as Industrial
Credit and Investment Corporation of India, ICICI Banking Corporation was later renamed as
'ICICI Bank Limited'. ICICI founded a separate legal entity, ICICI Bank, to undertake normal
banking operations - taking deposits, credit cards, car loans etc. In 2001, ICICI acquired Bank
of Madura (est. 1943). Bank of Madura was a Chettiar bank, and had acquired Chettinad
Mercantile Bank (est. 1933) and Illanji Bank (established 1904) in the 1960s. In 2002, The
Boards of Directors of ICICI and ICICI Bank approved the reverse merger of ICICI, ICICI
Personal Financial Services Limited and ICICI Capital Services Limited, into ICICI Bank.
After receiving all necessary regulatory approvals, ICICI integrated the group's financing and
banking operations, both wholesale and retail, into a single entity. At the same time, ICICI
started its international expansion by opening representative offices in New York and
London. In India, ICICI Bank bought the Shimla and Darjeeling branches that Standard
Chartered Bank had inherited when it acquired Grindlays Bank.

In 2003, ICICI opened subsidiaries in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK), and in the UK
it established an alliance with Lloyds TSB. It also opened an Offshore Banking Unit (OBU)
in Singapore and representative offices in Dubai and Shanghai. In 2004, ICICI opened a
representative office in Bangladesh to tap the extensive trade between that country, India and
South Africa. In 2005, ICICI acquired Investitsionno-Kreditny Bank (IKB), a Russia bank
with about US$4mn in assets, head office in Balabanovo in the Kaluga region, and with a
branch in Moscow. ICICI renamed the bank ICICI Bank Eurasia. Also, ICICI established a
branch in Dubai International Financial Centre and in Hong Kong. In 2006, ICICI Bank UK
opened a branch in Antwerp, in Belgium. ICICI opened representative offices in Bangkok,
Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur. In 2007, ICICI amalgamated Sangli Bank, which was
headquartered in Sangli, in Maharashtra State, and which had 158 branches in Maharashtra
and another 31 in Karnataka State. Sangli Bank had been founded in 1916 and was
particularly strong in rural areas. With respect to the international sphere, ICICI also received
permission from the government of Qatar to open a branch in Doha. Also, ICICI Bank
Eurasia opened a second branch, this time in St. Petersburg. In 2008, The US Federal Reserve
permitted ICICI to convert its representative office in New York into a branch. ICICI also
established a branch in Frankfurt. In 2009, ICICI made huge changes in its organisation like
elimination of loss making department and restreching outsourced staff or renegotiate their
charges in consequent to the recession. In addition to this, ICICI adopted a massive approach
aims for cost control and cost cutting. In consequent of it, compesation to staff was not
increased and no bonus declared for 2008-09.
On 23 May ICICI Bank announced that it would merge with Bank of Rajasthan through a
share-swap in a non-cash deal that values the Bank of Rajasthan at about 3,000 crore. ICICI
announced that the merger expand ICICI Bank's branch network by 25%.[9][10][11]

On 18h October 2010, ICICI will inaugurate I-Express, an instant cross-border money
transfer option for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). This service will be available through the
ICICI Bank's select partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council. [12]

[edit] Controversy
ICICI Bank has been in focus in recent years because of alleged harassment of customers by
its recovery agents. Listed below are some of the related news links:

• ICICI Bank was fined 55 lakh for hiring goons (known coloquially as "goondas") to
recover a loan. Recovery agents had ,allegedly, forcibly dragged out a youth (who
was not even the borrower) from the car, beaten him up with iron rods and left him
bleeding as they drove away with the vehicle. "We hold ICICI Bank guilty of the
grossest kind of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice for breach of terms of
contract of hire-purchase/loan agreement by seizing the vehicle illegally,""No
civilised society governed by the rule of law can brook such kind of conduct" said
Justice Kaleem, who was born in Laddhawala, Muzaffarnagar is the president of the
consumer commission.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]
• Four ICICI loan employees arrested on theft charges in Punjab [21]
• ICICI Bank told to pay 1 lakh as compensation for using unlawful recovery methods.
[22]

• RBI warns ICICI Bank for coercive methods to recover loans[23]

• ICICI Bank drives customer to suicide - Four men including an employee of ICICI
Bank booked under sections 452, 306, 506 (II) and 34 of IPC for abetting suicide.[24]
According to the suicide note they advised him, "If you cannot repay the bank loan,
sell off your wife, your kids, yourself, sell everything at your home. Even then if you
cannot not pay back the due amount, then it's better if you commit suicide."[25] India
biggest private bank has compensated the life by money [26]
• ICICI Bank on huge car recovery scam in Goa - ICICI Bank invest in car-jackers to
recover loans in Goa. A half an hour investigative report on CNN-IBN's 30 Minutes.
The under cover report was executed by CNN-IBN's Special Investigations Team
from Mumbai, led by Ruksh Chatterji [27]
• Family of Y. Yadaiah alleged that he was beaten to death by ICICI Bank’s recovery
agents, for failing to pay the dues. Four persons were arrested in this case.[28]
• A father while talking to Times of India, alleged that "ICICI Bank recovery agents
visited his house and threatened his family. And his son Nikhil consumed poison
because of the tension".[29]
• Oppressed by ICICI Bank's loan recovery agents, Shakuntala Joshi (38), committed
suicide by hanging. The suicide note stated that she was upset with the ill-treatment
meted out by ICICI Bank's recovery agents and had thus decided to end her life.[30]
• In another case of a suicide it is alleged that ‘goondas’ sent by ICICI Bank abused
Himanshu and his wife in front of the entire residential colony before taking away his
vehicle. Feeling frustrated and insulted, he reportedly committed suicide.[31]
• C.L.N Murthy, a scientist with the Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Chemical
Technology, was allegedly tortured by recovery agents of ICICI Bank after he
defaulted on his loan.“They humiliated me no end. They ripped my shirt, shaved my
 moustache, cut my hair and gave electric shocks on my chest and even spat on my
face" adds Murthy.[32]
• A dozen recovery agents of ICICI Bank, riding on bikes, allegedly forced a prominent
lawyer, Someshwari Prasad, to stop his car. They held Prasad at gunpoint and also
slapped him to force him. A manager of the ICICI Bank branch, Rakesh Mehta, along
with four other employees were arrested.[33]
• In a landmark case, Allahabad High Court had ordered registration of an FIR against
ICICI Bank's branch manager, President, Chairman and Managing Director on a
complaint of 75-year-old widow Prakash Kaur. She had complained that “goondas”
were sent by the bank to harass her and forcibly took away her truck.[34] When the
Supreme Court wanted to know about the procedure adopted by the Bank, ICICI Bank
counsel said notice would be sent to a defaulter asking him either to pay the
instalments or hand over the vehicle purchased on loan, failing which the agents
would be asked to seize it. When the Bench pointed out that recovery or seizure could
be done only legally, ICICI Bank counsel said, "If we have to go through the legal
process it would be difficult to recover the instalments as there are millions of
defaulters".[35]
• Taking strong exception to ICICI Bank's use of 'goondas' against a defaulter, the
president of Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum said, "The fact leaves us aghast at
the manner of functioning and goondaism in which the bank is involved for a petty
amount of 1,889... such attitude is deplorable and sends chills down the spine....The
bank had the option to recover dues through legal means. They have no legal right to
snatch the vehicle in such a manner which amounts to robbery,". In this case recovery
agents pointed a pistol at a defaulter when he tried to resist. ICICI bank argued that
they had taken peaceful possession of the vehicle "after due intimation to the
complainant as he was irregular in remitting the monthly instalments". But the court
found out that the records proved otherwise.[36]
• Two senior ICICI Bank officials were booked for abducting one Vikas Porwal from
his house and keeping him hostage in the Bank's premises.[37]
• The credit card division of the ICICI Bank allegedly threatened a senior citizen in
Chandigarh with a fictitious arrest warrant on account of a default that never was.[38]
• A Consumer Commission has asked ICICI Bank MD K V Kamath to appear before it
in respect a complaint. A borrower on protesting against the forceful dispossession of
his car, as seen in the post-incident photographs, was roughed up and sustained
injuries.[39]
• An 18-year-old boy was allegedly kidnapped and detained at the Pune branch of
ICICI Bank.[40]
• There have been several other minor legal cases accusing harassment by ICICI Bank
[41][42][43][44][45]

• A consumer court imposed a joint penalty of 25 lakh on ICICI Bank and American
Express Bank for making unsolicited calls.[46]