It was 'business as usual' at the branches and ATMs of ICICI Bank across India yesterday.
Following unconfirmed rep-orts on the stability of the bank, ICICI Bank kept its branches open in Gujarat and Mumbai and elsewhere in the country to reassure customers, despite it being a holiday.
According to a statement from ICICI Bank, there were no queues outside any of its branches and ATMs and it is understood that customers were depositing money and some were even opening new accounts.
Chanda Kochhar, executive director, ICICI Bank, said in a press statement yesterday: "ICICI Bank is happy to inform its valued customers and depositors that the mischievous rumours about the bank's financial position floated in the last couple of days have failed to unsettle most of our customers.
"We have taken an assessment of transactions at our branches and ATMs across Gujarat and the rest of the country today. At any given point of time, there were not more than five customers at any branch. In fact, depositors have come back today to deposit money and even to open new accounts. It is business as usual at ICICI Bank."
ICICI Bank, the largest private sector bank and the second largest among all banks in India, with an asset base of about $21 billion, saw increased cash withdrawals in a few cities in Gujarat on Friday evening and early Saturday in reaction to the unconfirmed news story regarding ICICI Bank's financial position.
In response, ICICI Bank issued statements stressing its premier position and sound financial health and at the same time keeping its ATMs and branches well stocked with cash to meet any customer demands.
Subsequently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country's central bank and bank regulator, also issued a statement on Saturday morning expressing satisfaction with ICICI Bank's financial position.
The officials emphasised that the rumours couldn't have been more baseless given ICICI's strength and size.
ICICI Bank is the only Indian company to be rated above the country rating by the international rating agency Moody's and is the first Indian company since 1998 to be awarded an investment grade international credit rating, reflecting the underlying positive sentiment about the Bank's fundamentals in the international community.
ICICI Bank's resource raising instruments have received the highest AAA rating (or equivalent) from various leading rating agencies in India. ICICI Bank is also the first Indian company and the second bank from Asia to list on the New York Stock Exchange.
ICICI Bank services a customer base of more than 5 million customers through a multi-channel access network.
Gulf News
