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The ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation
of India) has had a chequered history since its incorporation
in 1955, but the ICICI Bank was set up much later in 1994.
However, the bank has made rapid progress and become the
largest private bank in India (www.wikipedia.org). In fact,
judged on the basis of size, the only bank ahead of the
ICICI in the public sector is the State Bank of India (SBI).
In 2007, the performance of ICICI bank was remarkable.
The total assets were Rs. 3446.58 bn ($79 bn) as on March
31, 2007, while the network increased to 950 branches and
3,300 ATMs (www.icicibank.com). The services offered by
the bank were enhanced to include several areas like: Demat
accounts, Insurance and Personal banking. The Managing Director,
K V Kamat was honored with the Forbes Asia's Businessman
of the Year Award in 2007 as a recognition of the stupendous
rise of the ICICI Bank in just a decade of its existence.
No other bank in India has achieved this kind of growth
and market penetration in such a short time.
However, the Indian banking industry has seen major changes
in the recent past. Though ICICI Bank has succeeded in creating
a good brand image through well-executed branding strategies,
the strategies of aggressive competitors are something that
it cannot afford to ignore. It is a challenge for the bank
to ensure that the brand equity is handled well to maintain
its position in the banking industry.
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