Full Form of ICICI
Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India
ICICI Bank Full Form stands for Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India. ICICI is an Indian financial institution founded in 1994 and has its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It offers various banking and financial services to retail customers and corporates in areas like investment banking, venture capital, asset management and non-life insurance, etc. Let us shed more light on Full Form of ICICI Bank.
ICICI Bank – Brief Overview:
Banking industry in India is one of the largest flourishing commercial industries, which has expanded internationally. While the colonial masters introduced banking system but much of it flourished after independence. In fact, it was only after nationalization drive of the banks, and liberalization of the Indian economy that the Banking sector saw major changes. With the policy of liberalization implemented in 1991, major overhauling occurred in the Banking industry that brought not only internal reforms but also ushered in the age of modern-day banking system in India.
Banks began adopting international models of banking and eventually, India saw the rise of some of the largest banks in the world. As India opened its gate for private companies, many private banking companies started appearing in the scenario. Private banking companies savored success more than that their public counterparts. This happened primarily because of the openness of the private sector to newer and better reforms and implementation of international standards of banking in India. As the world was gearing towards modernization, private banking companies quite smartly took advantage of people’s proclivity to modern-day reforms and services.
There have been many private banking companies since then but there are a few among the lot, which have carved out their own niche in the commercial banking sector. One such name is the ICICI bank. Headquartered in Mumbai and run by one of the most influential women personalities of the world, Mrs. Chanda Kochhar, ICICI Bank is one of the most popular banks, which is actually a multinational company that carries out banking services not just in India but across other parts of the globe. ICICI rose to success in this field and in order to understand the history and present relevance of ICICI, one must go through the following ten points about the bank that distinguishes it from other private and public banks in the country.
History of ICICI Bank:
One must always start with historical background of anything of which one wishes to learn about. By understanding the historical circumstances, one is able to appreciate the purpose and allied functions that anything is supposed to discharge. The purpose of introducing banking system was to overhaul the erratic, unreliable domestic lending business prevalent back then in colonial India and pave a way for a systematic and controlled banking system. ICICI was established to introduce different reforms and methods of banking in the country.
A Joint venture between the World Bank and India’s public sector bank and insurance companies established ICICI back in 1955 in order to expedite the financial credit system in the country. However, it was only in 1994 that ICICI became a wholly owned subsidiary. The bank started operations with a different name, Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Bank but it eventually preferred to use the shortened name ICICI Bank. The parent company that was formed in 1955 eventually merged with the bank. In 1998, the shareholding of ICICI was alleviated to 46% by means of a public offering of shares. A major achievement was made in the year 1999 when it got listed on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Major acquisitions of the ICICI Bank:
ICICI went on to expand more and more with time. It became an international bank and attained major acquisitions that showed its financial strength and value in the banking sector. Some of the acquisitions that ICICI Bank undertook were bank of Madurai in the year 2001, ITC Classic Finance that was a commercial firm engaged in business of hire and purchase services, the Sangli bank in 2007, the Bank of Rajasthan that was acquired for heavy amount of Rs. 30 billion, two branches of Grindlays Bank situated in Shimla and Darjeeling, etc.
ICICI’s contribution in the development of f inancial system of the country:
ICICI has played an indispensable role in the development of the infrastructure of the financial system of the country. Since its inception, it has become a major credit system infrastructure and participated in major developmental projects. ICICI has participated in the following developmental projects.
One of the major contributions of the ICICI Bank is in the establishment of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1992, which was created with objective of allowing nationwide trading services and ensuring that investors go through a more transparent and reliable mechanism while investing their resources in any company.
In the promotion and establishment of the Financial Innovation Network and Operations Pvt Ltd, ICICI has a key role. ICICI helped in the creation of FINO, with purpose of allowing easy access to technological solutions to the areas where banking system does not exist or is at an underdeveloped stage.
Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd. is another institution, whose development and promotion is credited to ICICI as well. Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd. is India’s first bureau in the area of credit information and was established in the year 2000. It is the storehouse of information relating to credit systems and borrowings and it provides such information in the manner of reports.
North Eastern Development Finance Corporation is a corporation that is directed towards development of agriculture, medicines, industries, poultry, etc in the North-east area of the country. It was established in Guwahati in the year 1995.
There are other institutions whose creation was promoted by the ICICI like Institutional Investor Advisory Services India Ltd., Asset Reconstruction Company India Ltd, etc.
ICICI Bank and its innovative services:
ICICI is known to have come up with innovative banking services that have attracted many consumers from across the world. All of these products are aimed at providing a convenient environment of banking to its customers and ensuring that Indian banking systems develop along with the International trends.
We shall begin with ICICI’s ambitious “Extraa Home Loans” that was India’s first every mortgage guarantee loans and was introduced in the year 2015. The attractive feature about this product is that it provides customers the option to extend the period of repayment up to the age of 67. ICICI, in order to effectively carry out this feature, has collaborated with India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC).
Then there is Smart Vault. ICICI introduced in the year 2015, which is about highly advanced, protected safety vaults for its customers. These lockers are available even during non-banking hours of the bank. The primary feature of these Smart vaults is to enable the customers to access their securities with complete privacy and assurance of utmost protection.
For the NRIs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, ICICI introduced the scheme of “Touch n Remit” that allows them to transfer money to India frombBanks in Bahrain instantly.
ICICI is famed for introducing India’s first ever “Contactless” debit and credit cards that provides customers the feature of waving their cards near the ATMs without the need to swipe the cards. This service has introduced the much popular banking technology and endeavored to provide access to modern-day banking systems.
ICICI Bank takes up the social responsibility:
ICICI has not fallen back in taking up social responsibilities and has introduced the “Go Green Initiative” to promote importance of environmental development and protection. The Bank has therefore incorporated Corporate Social responsibility as a part of its regular exercise to promote environmental issues among its customers. This initiative also attempts to develop the banking environment and bolster ties between the customer and the bank.
With this initiative, the bank has come up with several ‘green’ products Instabanking, where different alternate channels are brought together through internet banking. Another product is the Vehicle Financing, where the bank waives of 50% processing fee on cars that run on eco-friendly resources for example, Hyundai’s Santro, Maruti Omni, etc. Another amazing product by the ICICI bank is the Carbon Footprint Calculator, which calculates the amount of electricity consumed per month.
Subsidiaries of the ICICI Bank:
As mentioned earlier, ICICI Bank operations have gone beyond national boundaries. ICICI bank has many subsidiaries in and outside India and these subsidiaries have contributed to the expansion of the ICICI business and helping it to become an International banking hub.
Its domestic subsidiaries are ICICI Prudential Trust Limited, ICICI Prudential Pension Funds Management Company Limited, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited, ICICI Securities Primary Dealership Limited, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited etc. Internationally, ICICI has ICICI Bank USA, ICICI Bank Canada, CICI International Limited, ICICI Bank Canada, etc as its subsidiaries.
ICICI Bank – Recognition and awards:
ICICI has played a key role in the promotion and development of a better, robust, and credible banking system in the country and this role has been recognized occasionally through various awards and recognition added to its kitty every year or so. With every award it earns, it rises more in fame and credibility and no wonder ICICI Bank is one of the most attended private banks of the country. It is also one of the most successful private banking India Company abroad.
ICICI has received the following awards and recognition:
- “The Asian Banker Excellence in Retail Financial Services Program” in the year 2003
- ICICI bank was placed in the “Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands Report” in 2011.
- In 2014, the Bank Trust Report named ICICI bank as 28th most trusted banking company in the country.
- In 2014, it was also awarded the title “Best Retail Bank of India”.
- The Asian banker adjudicated ICICI as the winner of “Best Internet banking Initiative” in 2015.
- Minister Arun Jaitley had honored ICICI with a certificate recognizing it as one of top five companies in banking governance. This happened in the year 2014.
Programs offered by ICICI Bank:
In this section, we shall talk about social initiatives undertaken by ICICI with the purpose of fulfilling its role as responsible corporate body. It has conceptualized programs that have effectively discharged the Corporate Social Responsibility.
ICICI came up with “Read to Lead” program that was driven towards promotion of education among underprivileged children. It focused on providing elementary education facilities to such children. In order to further this object, the Bank collaborated with several NGOs to spread awareness about the importance of education in villages and communities and ensure that schools are set up to carry out the task.
This programme was launched in two phases. In the second phase, ICICI financially assisted in the establishment of libraries in the rural areas of Bastar district in Chattisgarh.
Controversies involving ICICI Bank:
A corporate entity is not unknown to controversies and so is the ICICI Bank. The popular bank has been embroiled in major controversies that have affected adversely its credibility and overall reputation in the banking market.
ICICI had faced accusations that it was engaged in fraudulent and inhumane recovery methods against those, who have failed to repay their loans. Many accused ICICI Bank of undertaking methods that were too harsh and arbitrary upon the debtors. In fact, there were many suicide cases linked to this controversy.
Another controversy was allegations on ICICI for committing fraudulent money laundering activities, which were in direct breach of the Reserve Bank of India guidelines and rules. A sting operation showed many officials from the ICICI bank participating in fraudulent businesses and agreeing to utilize black money. An inquiry was commenced under the orders of the government of India and the Reserve Bank of India and appropriate action was taken against accused persons.
Recent credit ratings of the ICICI Bank and its financial foothold:
Considered one of the most trustable credit rating agency, Moody has generally given high ratings to the ICICI bank however, in 2015 it lowered the ratings. However, despite low ratings from Moody, it remains the second largest bank in India in terms of assets and third largest in terms of market capitalization
ICICI Bank is an important participant in the Banking Industry of the country and has done a lot towards positive development of ICICI. However, recent controversies have affected the overall reputation of the bank and big stakeholders have been engaging in regular overhauling of the system so as to ensure that this does not happen again. Regardless of that, the overall contribution of ICICI as a private banking company has been immensely great.