Kochhar says ICICI Bank targets 500 new branches each year

The largest private sector lender of the country, ICICI Bank aims to add 400 to 500 branches every year for the upcoming three years along with targeting focus on infrastructure project finance in road and power segments.

“I feel that we have to grow beyond the number of existing branches. Over the next 2-3 years, we would continue to add branches at the rate of 400-500 per year,” ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar said.

The bank has been in steady pace in increasing its branch network and has posted 30.5% rise in net profits amounting to Rs 1,437 crore for Q3 of this fiscal.

Indicating the expansion plans of the bank, Kochhar said that the bank has not set up even a single branch this fiscal after its acquisition of Bank of Rajasthan.

Talking about the bank’s decision to focus in infrastructure financing, she said, “I do feel ICICI Bank will play a major role in infrastructure project finance. As investment takes place in phases like in road and power projects, we move as investment takes place, this is an area of big focus.”

India will manage governance deficit; no impact on growth: ICICI Bank CEO and Managing Director Chanda Kochhar

 

Undeterred by the murmur over governance deficit impacting growth in India, ICICI Bank CEO and Managing Director Chanda Kochhar today exuded confidence that the leadership will manage these issues as the nation moves ahead on the high growth path.

“I have confidence that we will be able to manage these issues and not allow them to dampen growth”, she told PTI in an interview when asked whether governance deficit could hurt growth prospects.

Pointing out that these issues arise with opportunities, Kochhar, said, “We have to handle these issues and not ignore them…Will these issue become big for diaspora? I think not.”

Kochhar is here as one of the six co-chairs of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum being attended by the world’s top CEOs, heads of states, academicians and even faith leaders.

“It is possible for us to handle it (issues of corruption). We will have to say that we will handle it. I am very optimistic that we have the capability to handle it,” said Kochhar.

Expressing disappointment at the performance of the Indian government, noted industrialist and Wipro Chairman Azim Premji yesterday told a television channel, “I think it is a national calamity and is personally very devastating because one had so much confidence when they (UPA-II) came in.

“One has reached a point in public governance where one has to take stock… Enough is enough, we have to reform ourselves. If we don’t do that, we are not going to leave children behind us proud of the country, despite 8-9 per cent (economic) growth,” Premji had said.

Premji, along with other prominent personalities, including Mahindra & amp; Mahindra Chairman Keshub Mahindra , HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh , former RBI Governors M Narasimham and Bimal Jalan, in an open letter to the Indian government had expressed concern over a series of scams that pointed toward a “governance deficit”.

In the letter, they had asked the government to deal with burning issues like corruption urgently.

India has recorded a growth rate of 8.9 per cent during the first half 2010-11 and hopes to end the fiscal with a growth rate of around 9 per cent, up from 7.4 per cent in the previous fiscal.