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Home > Business > PTI > Report

It is business as usual: ICICI Bank

April 13, 2003 22:43 IST

ICICI Bank, which kept its branches open in Mumbai and Gujarat even on Sunday to reassure anxious customers, witnessed normal transactions and there was no queue at ATMs to withdraw money, a senior bank official said in Mumbai.

Some customers even deposited money in branches in Gujarat, which had witnessed panic withdrawals by customers since Friday night.

The Friday night run on the ICICI Bank had on Saturday spread from Gujarat to Mumbai with anxious customers thronging its branches and ATMs to withdraw money.

But by evening the situation had eased a bit following the RBI's assurance that the bank's health is sound.

"The banking operations were normal throughout the country and withdrawals were less than those seen on any normal day. In fact, 90-100 customers deposited money at branches in Gujarat," ICICI Bank executive director Chanda Kochar told PTI.

There was no pressure at ATMs or branches and 'at any point of time, there were not more than five customers at any branch', Kochar said.

Senior bank officials in Ahmedabad said there were negligible crowds at ATMs, withdrawals at various branches in Gujarat were low at Rs 12.5 million (Rs 1.25 crore) and customers made deposits to the tune of Rs four million (Rs 40lakh) on Sunday.

The bank, with an assets base of Rs 1000 billion (Rs 100,000 crore), will keep its branches in Gujarat and Mumbai open even on Monday though it is a holiday on account of Ambedkar Jayanti.

Regarding the rumour that triggered the run, the bank's regional manager for Gujarat R Nagarajan said, "A detailed post mortem would be conducted once things have settled down and the bank begins to function normally".

ICICI Bank is going ahead with its business expansion plans in Gujarat, Nagarajan said.

Kochar said good logistics management and a network of 1,700 ATMs helped the private sector bank deal with the pressure on the system.

The RBI's clarification on the bank's financial soundness and liquidity also helped reinforce confidence, she said.

On April 11, the bank had said that it would open eight new branches and set up an additional 35 ATMs in Gujarat over the next few months.

It already has a base of 300,000 customers and operates 115 ATMs and 22 branches with an estimated total deposit of Rs 24 billion (Rs 2,400 crore).



© Copyright 2003 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.





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