ICICI Bank is an Indian multinational bank and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai. It is the second largest bank in India by assets and third largest by market capitalization.[citation needed] It offers services to corporate and retail customers, and has subsidiaries for investment banking, life and non-life insurance, venture capital, and asset management.

The bank has a network of 7,608 branches and 12,190 ATMs across India. It also has a presence in 19 countries. The bank has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Canada; branches in United States, Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Qatar, Oman, Dubai International Finance Centre, China and South Africa; as well as representative offices in United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia. The company's UK subsidiary has also established branches in Belgium and Germany. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has identified the State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank as domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs), which are often referred to as banks that are "too big to fail". ICICI Bank is categorised as one of the Big Four Banks of India, along with SBI, Punjab National Bank and HDFC Bank.

History

The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) was a government institution established on 5 January 1955 and Sir Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar was elected as the first Chairman of ICICI Ltd. It was structured as a joint-venture of the World Bank, India's public-sector banks and public-sector insurance companies to provide project financing to Indian industry. ICICI Bank was established by ICICI as a wholly owned subsidiary in 1994 in Vadodara. The bank was founded as the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Bank, before it changed its name to ICICI Bank. In 1997, the bank introduced electric funds transfer facility. There was also an establishment of a full-fledged vigilance and inspection department.

And in October 2001, the Boards of Directors of ICICI and ICICI Bank approved the merger of ICICI and two of its wholly-owned retail finance subsidiaries, ICICI Personal Financial Services Limited and ICICI Capital Services Limited, with ICICI Bank. The merger of parent ICICI Ltd. into its subsidiary ICICI Bank led to privatization.

In the 1990s, ICICI transformed its business from a development financial institution offering only project finance to a diversified financial services group, offering a wide variety of products and services, both directly and through a number of subsidiaries and affiliates like ICICI Bank. ICICI Bank launched Internet Banking operations in 1998. In 2000, ICICI Bank became the first bank to be listed on New York Stock Exchange.

ICICI's shareholding in ICICI Bank was reduced to 46% through a public offering of shares in India in 1998, followed by an equity offering in the form of American depositary receipts on the NYSE in 2000. ICICI Bank acquired the Bank of Madura Limited in an all-stock deal in 2001 and sold additional stakes to institutional investors during 2001–02. In 1999, ICICI become the first Indian company and the first bank or a financial institution from non-Japan Asia to be listed on the NYSE.

ICICI, ICICI Bank, and ICICI subsidiaries ICICI Personal Financial Services Limited and ICICI Capital Services Limited merged in a reverse merger in 2002. During the 2008 financial crisis, customers rushed to ICICI ATMs and branches in some locations due to rumours of bank failure. The Reserve Bank of India issued a clarification on the financial strength of ICICI Bank to dispel the rumours.

By 2010, ICICI had opened its first retail branch in Singapore. In 2015, ICICI unveiled an outward remittance platform called Money2World for online outward remittance transactions for non-ICICI and ICICI customers. And in 2017, the bank won the 'Best Retail Bank in India' award for the fifth consecutive year at the Asian Banker Excellence in Retail Financial Services International Awards 2018. By March 2018, ICICI bank was already the country's largest private sector bank with consolidated asset of Rs. 11,24,281 crore.

In March 2020, the board of ICICI Bank Ltd. approved an investment of ₹10 billion(US$100million) in Yes Bank, resulting in a 5% ownership interest in Yes Bank. The bank launched India's largest API banking portal with nearly 250 APIs.

In 2020, the bank also opened multiple mobile ATMs in different parts of the country, including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Noida and Chennai. This was to ensure that the customers can avail banking services while maintaining social distancing. Along with regular ATM services, other banking services such as fund transfers, PIN changing, booking fixed deposits were made available to the customers through this initiative.

During December 2020, the bank launched the initiative of 'Infinite India', a comprehensive online platform for foreign companies for setting up operations in the country. As a service, it provided banking as well as value-added services. Along with creating convenience for companies they also eliminate the need for coordinating with multiple checkpoints leading to a hassle free experience. The key value added services included Incorporation Services, Licences and Registration, Taxation and Compilation, and HR services, and the key banking services included authorising the set up of offices, trade and treasury services, among other banking services.

One of the biggest initiatives of the bank in 2021 is 'Namma Chennai Smart Card'. This was a regional system that created a Common Payment Card System in partnership with Greater Chennai Corporation and Chennai Smart City Limited. This is the one stop solution for making payments within the city and beyond. This Rupay-powered, co-branded, contactless prepaid card, will help make various digital payments like tax and utility bill payments. Additionally, this card facilitates retail and e-commerce payments as well. In June 2021, the bank announced the launch of 'ICICI Stack for Corporates', a set of digital banking solutions for corporates and the corporate ecosystem. And during July of the same year, they released a co-branded credit card with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) to help the customers get cumulative benefits and reward points. By December 2021, they had about 70 companies using 'CorpConnect', their digital platform for banking supply chain finance.

In February 2022, their 'InstaBIZ' app was made interoperable, making the benefits of the business banking mobile app available to customers of other banks as well. This initiative is one of a kind, and helps professionals across domains to create digital collection solutions like UPI ID and QR code, and collect money from their customers immediately. In March 2022, the bank signed an MoU with the nation's oldest paramilitary forces, the Assam Rifles, to offer a range of banking services to the current and retired soldiers. As part of the MoU, a bunch of banking services, such as a zero balance account, a preferential locker allotment, unlimited transactions across ATMs of India, credit card and insurance benefits were provided to the soldiers. In 2022, the government declared that the IT resources of ICICI bank, along with those of HDFC Bank, and UPI managing entity NPCI as 'critical information infrastructure'. This means that any harm done on them can have an impact on national security and any unauthorised person accessing these could be imprisoned for 10 years.

In the beginning of 2023, the bank signed an MoU with HBF Direct to support SME's and startups. The partnership was aimed at solving major difficulties impacting small businesses and help them contribute to the economy of the country. They also partnered with TATA Motors to offer financing solutions to its authorised passenger electric vehicle dealers. Along with funding for petrol and diesel models, they are also giving inventory funding to EV dealers who are authorised. This year, the bank also signed a pact with BNP Paribas, to cater to the banking requirements of European corporates operating in India and Indian Companies in the European Union. In February, a new service centre was opened in Dana Mall, Bahrain, to help the bank widen their customer base in Bahrain. This was their third physical touchpoint in Bahrain, following Manama Centre and Juffair.

In March 2023, ICICI bank offered an array of digital solutions for participants of the capital market and clients of custody services. This initiative helps various stakeholders of the sector (like the stockbrokers, FDIs, etc.) to easily meet their banking requirements. In April 2023, the bank simplified settlement for global trade using Rupee Vostro Accounts. This enables the exporters and importers to pay and settle import-export transactions in Indian Rupees. This initiative was formed in line to the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023 and the framework established by RBI for exports and imports to be invoiced, paid and settled in INR along with dollars, euros and other currencies. This proposal reduces the foreign currency risk. In May 2023, ICICI bank enabled FAST-ag based parking payment in the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad. In June 2023, the bank donated Rs. 1200 crores to the Tata Memorial Hospital, to advance cancer treatments. This will open cancer-centres in Navi Mumbai, Vishakhapatnam and Mullanpur.

In December 2023, two other initiatives were also taken up by the bank. The bank integrated their Rupay Credit Cards with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions. Enabling this integration links their credit to UPI to make P2M (Person to Merchant) transactions online. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank came together to create a bancassurance partnership, expanding insurance accessibility.

The Indian Embassy in Bahrain partnered with ICICI bank and SADAD, and has established a digital payment kiosk for 340,000 Indian residents and others to pay for services easily. In June 2024, there was also an announcement of 'Smart Lock', a unique safety measure to enable its customers to lock/unlock multiple banking services. During this year, there was also an attempt to increase the spendings on tightening cybersecurity, post the data glitch.

In 2025, RBI announced SBI, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Banks will be seen as systemically important banks. These are the banks that are considered too big to fail due to their size, cross-jurisdictional activities, lack of substitutability and interconnectedness. A failure to these banks would cause large-scale failures to the banking and economic system. In 2025, newer credit card rules were also established by the bank, and were supposed to come into effect from early 2026 onwards. The major areas of impacts include reward points earnings, movie benefits, add-on card fees, dynamic currency conversion charges, and transaction-related fees across credit cards. The changes include a 2% fees on online gaming platforms, 1% fees on transaction amounts using third-party apps, and 1% fee carried out through transportation select merchant category exceeding Rs. 50,000.

In 2026, ICICI bank was rolling out biometric authentication for UPI payments on its iMobile app, allowing customers to approve transactions upto Rs. 5000 using biometric markers, like fingerprint or facial recognition. One key change is that the UPI pin becomes redundant in online payments. The intention of this change is to make digital transfers quicker and more secure for users. For payments above Rs. 5000, UPI pin is still a necessity.

ICICI Bank office in Financial District, Hyderabad.

Acquisitions

  • 1996: ICICI Ltd. A financial institution with headquarters in Mumbai
  • 1997: ITC Classic Finance. Incorporated in 1986, ITC Classic was a non-bank financial firm that engaged in hire, purchase and leasing operations. At the time of being acquired, ITC Classic had eight offices, 26 outlets and 700 brokers.
  • 1997: SCICI (Shipping Credit and Investment Corporation of India)
  • 1998: Anagram (ENAGRAM) Finance. Anagram had a network of some 50 branches in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra that were primarily engaged in the retail financing of cars and trucks. It also had some 250,000 depositors.
  • 2001: Bank of Madura
  • 2002: The Darjeeling and Shimla branches of Grindlays Bank
  • 2005: Investitsionno-Kreditny Bank (IKB), a Russian bank
  • 2007: Sangli Bank. Sangli Bank was a private sector unlisted bank, founded in 1916, and 30% owned by the Bhate family. Its headquarters were in Sangli in Maharashtra, and it had 198 branches. It had 158 in Maharashtra and 31 in Karnataka, and others in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Delhi. Its branches were relatively evenly split between metropolitan areas and rural or semi-urban areas.
  • 2010: The Bank of Rajasthan (BOR) was acquired by the ICICI Bank in 2010 for ₹30 billion(US$310million). Reserve Bank of India was critical of BOR's promoters not reducing their holdings in the company. BOR has since been merged with ICICI Bank.

Role in Indian financial infrastructure

ICICI Bank has contributed to the setting up of a number of Indian institutions to establish financial infrastructure in the country over the years:

  • In 1992, India's leading financial institutions, including ICICI Ltd., promoted the National Stock Exchange of India on behalf of the Government of India to establish a nationwide trading facility for equities, debt instruments, and hybrids, ensuring equal access to investors across the country through an appropriate communication network.
  • In 1987, ICICI Ltd along with UTI set up CRISIL as India's first professional credit rating agency.
  • NCDEX (National Commodities and Derivatives EXchange) was set up in 2003, by ICICI Bank Ltd, LIC, NABARD, NSE, Canara Bank, CRISIL, Goldman Sachs, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) and Punjab National Bank.
  • ICICI Bank facilitated the setting up of "FINO Cross Link to Case Link Study" in 2006, as a company that would provide technology solutions and services to reach the underserved and underbanked population of the country. Using technologies like smart cards, biometrics and a basket of support services, FINO enables financial institutions to conceptualise, develop and operationalise projects to support sector initiatives in microfinance and livelihoods.
  • Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), was set up in 1983, by the erstwhile apex financial institutions like IDBI, ICICI, IFCI and SBI with the support of the Government of Gujarat as a national resource organisation committed to entrepreneurship development, education, training and research.
  • North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi) was promoted by national-level financial institutions like ICICI Ltd in 1995 at Guwahati, Assam for the development of industries, infrastructure, animal husbandry, agri-horticulture plantation, medicinal plants, sericulture, aquaculture, poultry and dairy in the North Eastern states of India.
  • Following the enactment of the Securitisation Act in 2002, ICICI Bank, together with other institutions, set up Asset Reconstruction Company India Limited (ARCIL) in 2003. ARCIL was established to acquire non-performing assets (NPAs) from financial institutions and banks with a view to enhance the management of these assets and help in the maximisation of recovery.
  • ICICI Bank helped establish India's first national credit bureau, Credit Information Bureau of India Limited (CIBIL), in 2000. CIBIL provides credit information reports to its members, containing the credit history of both commercial and consumer borrowers.

Subsidiaries

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance is a joint-venture between ICICI bank and Prudential Corporation Holdings Limited, and are involved in insurance and asset management business. It is one of the first private sector life insurance companies and commenced fiscal operations in 2001. It was incorporated as a Public Limited Company in June 2000. In 2026 they recorded a 27.8% rise in profits, which was aided by significant growth in new business premiums and retail insurance sales, sending shares by 5.5%. They are now strengthening their infrastructure on protection products, technology-led distribution, and operational efficiencies. This is to support the long-term structural changes rather than a short-term opportunity. As of March 31,2026 it's Asset Under Management (AUM) is ₹3,136.34bn

ICICI Lombard

ICICI Bank is a private sector non-life insurance company in India. Bancassurance is one of the company's distribution channels. It is a publicaly listed insurance company. One of their primary aims is to make insurance accessible to the people of India. It is also one of the listed insurance firms. As of July 2026, ICICI Lombard is valued at Rs. 59,900 crore.

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund is one of India's largest and most diversified private-sector fund houses. Overtime, the AMC has a full-spectrum fund house, with diverse profiles across equities, debt, hybrid and other categories. They are one of the major AMC's of the country, navigating multiple market cycles, different product ranges and investment processes.

ICICI Securities

ICICI Securities Limited was established in March 1995 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICICI Bank. The company provides services in equity and derivatives trading, as well as research related to stock and commodity markets. Its retail broking platform, ICICI Direct, facilitates the distribution of third-party financial products, including mutual funds, insurance, fixed deposits, bonds, exchange-traded funds, and pension schemes.

ICICI Bank Canada

ICICI Bank Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of ICICI Bank, whose corporate office is located in Toronto. Established in December 2003, ICICI Bank Canada is a full-service direct bank with assets of about $6.5 billion as of 31 December 2019. It is governed by Canada's Bank Act and operates under the supervision of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. The bank has seven branches in Canada.

In November 2003, ICICI Bank Canada was established as a Schedule II (foreign-owned or -controlled) bank, and its head office and downtown Toronto branch was opened in December. In 2008, the bank relocated its corporate office to the Don Valley Business Park in Toronto.

ICICI Bank Canada is a member of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA); a registered member with the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), a federal agency insuring deposits at all of Canada's chartered banks; Interac Association; Cirrus Network; and The Exchange Network.

ICICI Bank UK

ICICI Bank UK was incorporated in England and Wales on 11 February 2003, as a private company with the name ICICI Bank UK Ltd. It then became a public limited company on 30 October 2006. Presently the Bank has seven branches in the UK: one each in Birmingham, East Ham, Harrow, London, Manchester, Southall and Wembley.

The bank currently has seven branches in the UK. ICICI Bank UK PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. It is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The bank has a long-term foreign currency credit rating of Baa1 from Moody's. On 31 March 2019, it had a capital adequacy ratio of 16.8%.

Other regional subsidiaries

ICICI Bank also has operations in United States, Bahrain, Germany, Hong Kong, and China.[citation needed]

Controversies

Inhumane debt recovery methods

A number of cases were filed against ICICI Bank and its employees for using "brutal measures" in its recovery methods against loan payment defaulters and credit card payments, with allegations that the bank was using goons to recover the money and that the recovery agents exhibited "inappropriate" and, in some cases, "inhuman" behaviour. Incidents were reported wherein the defaulters were put to "public shame" by the recovery agents. In some cases, notes written by the bank's employees asking the defaulters to "sell everything in the house, including family members" were found. Some suicide notes reportedly spoke of the bank's recovery methods as the cause of the suicide. Subsequently, the bank faced legal cases and monetary penalties.

Money laundering allegations

ICICI Bank was one of the leading Indian banks accused of facilitating money laundering in a sting operation conducted by the online magazine Cobrapost in 2013. On 14 March 2013, Cobrapost released video footage from Operation Red Spider showing high-ranking officials and some employees of ICICI Bank agreeing to convert black money into white, an act in violation of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The Government of India and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ordered an inquiry following the exposé. On 15 March 2013, ICICI Bank suspended 18 employees, pending inquiry. On 11 April 2013, the Deputy Governor of RBI, Harun Rashid Khan reportedly said that the central bank was initiating action against ICICI Bank in connection with allegations of money laundering.

Chanda Kochhar fraud case

On 4 October 2018, Chanda Kochhar stepped down as MD and CEO of ICICI Bank following allegations of corruption. In January 2019, based on the report of an enquiry panel headed by Justice Srikrishna, the bank board terminated her employment, and asked for a claw back of bonuses and benefits. In 2020, the Enforcement Directorate provisionally seized assets and shares belonging to Chanda Kochhar worth more than ₹78 crore(US$11.08 million), in relation to the ICICI bank loan case.

Data Breach of 2024

In April 2024, the bank admitted to facing a data glitch that affected nearly 17,000 of the newly issued credit card users. These cards had gotten mistakenly linked to wrong users in the digital channels of the bank. Due to the glitch, the existing customer can see the details of a new credit card, but not vice-versa. This issue came into light unexpectedly, and since then the bank had assured that the mistake was rectified and that a financial compensation would be given to those affected greatly by this.

See also

Further reading

  • Praveen, Suthrum; Krishnan, M.S. (2010). . William Davidson Institute At The University of Michigan. ISBN978-1-61674-187-7.
  • Chandani, Arti; Mehta, Mita; Chandrasekaran, K.B. (14 July 2014). . Procedia Economics and Finance. 11: 459–471. doi:. ISSN.
  • Parameswar, Nakul; Dhir, Swati; Dhir, Sanjay (16 December 2016). "Banking on Innovation, Innovation in Banking at ICICI Bank". Global Business and Organizational Excellence. 36 (2): 6–16. doi:. eISSN. ISSN.

External links

  • Business data for ICICI Bank: