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ICICI Bank Ltd: Financing the corporate world

ICICI Bank is armed with an international strategy to work in high growth markets with a significant presence of NRIs and Indian corporates

Headquartered in Mumbai, ICICI Bank is one of India's largest bank and financial services company with total consolidated assets of $152 billion, as on March 31, 2017. In India, ICICI group offers a wide range of banking products and financial services for corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and specialised subsidiaries in the areas of investment banking, life, non-life insurance, venture capital and asset management.
Excerpts from an interview with Vijay Chandok, Executive Director, ICICI Bank Ltd.
Tell us about your international operations and presence at the DIFC? 
ICICI Bank has a presence in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City and 16 other countries through subsidiaries in Canada and the U.K.; branches in Bahrain, China, Dubai International Finance Centre, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the U.S.; and representative offices in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and the UAE.
The bank's subsidiary ICICI Bank U.K. Plc has seven branches in the U.K. and a branch each in Belgium and Germany.
ICICI Bank's international strategy is to work in high growth markets with a significant presence of NRIs and Indian corporates. In light of this, and given Dubai's strategic location and growing importance of the UAE as a regional hub for the Middle East, North and East Africa, and the Indian subcontinent, ICICI Bank obtained a licence from the Dubai Financial Services Authority on December 11, 2005, as a Category IV authorised firm.
Thus, ICICI Bank became the first Indian bank to establish a presence in DIFC. We focused primarily on private banking activities till January 24, 2011, when the branch received a Category I licence, enabling us to engage in a wider range of corporate and commercial banking operations.
DIFC has provided us with world-class physical infrastructure, a legal framework based on common law and a progressive regulatory framework that has nurtured the growth in our operations.
Do you find the regulatory authority easy to work with?
ICICI Bank is listed in India (on the BSE and the NSE) and in the U.S. (on the NYSE). We work with multiple regulators owing to our international presence in 17 countries through our branches and subsidiaries.
We are committed to maintaining compliance with all relevant laws and regulations and constantly evaluate and improve our operations to keep up with the fast pace of change in the banking and financial industry. We consider the regulators to be one of our key stakeholders and compliance with all applicable laws and regulations to be one of our key responsibilities.
In our view, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) is a prudent and progressive regulator. The DFSA, an independent risk-based regulator, was established using principle-based primary legislation modelled closely on the ones used in the U.K. and U.S.
ICICI Bank has received support and guidance from the DFSA within the efficient, professional and rigorous regulatory system of DIFC. The establishment is responsive with prompt and professional responses to any clarifications sought. We believe that the DFSA has ensured a conducive environment for financial services by setting international standards in regulations.
Elucidate about operations at DIFC in terms of clients? 
Prior to 2011, ICICI Bank focused on the private banking business, as the UAE is home to some of the most affluent Indian expatriate communities in the diaspora. In this business, the DIFC branch offers investment products to its private banking customers, ranging from call accounts to investments in equity, bonds, real estate and other alternative asset classes.
The DIFC Branch works closely with ICICI Bank's India-based centralised product team and with relationship management and business teams spread across the region that includes the UAE, Bahrain and South Africa.
Since obtaining our Category I licence, we have expanded operations to include commercial banking operations as well. In this business, the DIFC branch provides a range of commercial banking products and services including the entire range of fund-based and non-fund based banking products to India's leading corporations and GCC based companies.
Our commercial banking operations are complemented by our trade finance and treasury activities. Our syndication capabilities also help in arranging finance for meeting the requirements of our clients.
How many markets/countries do you serve from DIFC?
We primarily work with clients based in the UAE or India from the DIFC branch. It serves as the regional hub for our business in the Middle East and Africa. Some of our UAE clients have business interests in Africa and other GCC countries. Our presence in DIFC enables us to leverage our regional presence to help companies meet their requirements.
We also raise bonds from our DIFC branch, which is used to finance our international business from time to time. 
Has your DIFC business portfolio expanded significantly?
Our operations in DIFC have expanded significantly in size and scope. Being an Indian bank, initially our focus was on offering banking services and products to meet the needs of affluent/ high net worth non-resident Indians and partnering with Indian companies in their global expansion.
As an extension to this strategy, we then focused on meeting the requirements of the UAE-based NRI businessmen. In the past few years, with better understanding of the market and wider market recognition, we have been working with UAE-based local clients.
The flexibility granted by the DFSA Category 1 licence coupled with an improved understanding of the UAE market has enabled us to enhance our product offerings in the UAE allowing us to reach out to more customers and serve existing ones in a more efficient manner.
Are you planning to strengthen your DIFC presence by deploying more bankers and specialists to cater to the growing needs of the markets served by you?
India is the top trading partner of the UAE and the bilateral trade is set to grow further in the next five years. With two years for the Expo 2020, we expect that the UAE market would grow.
India remains one of the bright spots in terms of growth globally and with the reforms being undertaken by the Government of India, we expect to see more investment into India - both by way of debt and equity. UAE-based NRIs not only trade and invest around the world, but are also leading investors in India - both for business and personal investments.
These factors imply that there would be significant opportunities for business growth in trade finance, term lending, private banking and investment banking linked to the UAE and India alone.
We have recently moved premises to a larger space within the DIFC to accommodate any increase in staff strength, if so required.
Has it been an enriching experience to operate out of the DIFC? 
While there are some restrictions, the DFSA Category I licence enables us to provide a wide suite of banking services that help showcase the capabilities of ICICI Bank.
Through the DIFC branch, ICICI Bank cemented its reputation of leveraging technology to bring in new paradigms in banking, becoming one of the first few banks globally to execute remittance and trade transactions using the block chain technology in collaboration with Emirates NBD.
Is there a huge competition amongst Indian banks for a slice of business pie from DIFC?
We feel that there are sufficient opportunities for all Indian banks based on their sectoral preferences and internal policies. In fact, we have been collaborating with other Indian banks to arrange financing for UAE corporates.
More Indian banks have reportedly shown interest in DIFC. Will this change the landscape of the business? 
Given the flexibility and forward-looking nature of the regulatory framework of DIFC and the compelling location and market of the UAE, it is not surprising.
We have collaborated with several Indian banks who already have a presence in the DIFC and will continue to do so in the future. We look at the additional influx, if any, of Indian banks as an opportunity to further enhance our mutual capabilities to meet the financing requirements of our clients in the UAE.
- supplements@khaleejtimes.com