ICICI Bank - Corporate History

Corporate History

ICICI Bank was established in 1994 by the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India, an Indian financial institution, as a wholly owned subsidiary. The parent company was formed in 1955 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. The bank was initially known as the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Bank, before it changed its name to the abbreviated ICICI Bank. The parent company was later merged into ICICI Bank.

ICICI Bank launched internet banking operations in 1998.

ICICI's shareholding in ICICI Bank was reduced to 46 percent, 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 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. In 1999, ICICI become the first Indian company and the first bank or financial institution from non-Japan Asia to be listed on the NYSE.

In 2000, ICICI Bank became the first Indian bank to list on the New York Stock Exchange with its five million American depository shares issue generating a demand book 13 times the offer size.

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 was approved by shareholders of ICICI and ICICI Bank in January 2002, by the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in March 2002, and by the High Court of Judicature at Mumbai and the Reserve Bank of India in April 2002.

In 2008, following the 2008 financial crisis, customers rushed to ATM's and branches in some locations due to rumors of adverse financial position of ICICI Bank. The Reserve Bank of India issued a clarification on the financial strength of ICICI Bank to dispel the rumors.