ICICI retires Rs 24k crore high-cost deposits

Contrary to belief that it was under withdrawal pressure, India's top private sector lender ICICI Bank on Sunday said that it has retired about Rs 24,000 crore expensive deposits to reduce cost and improve its bottomline. Pooh-poohing suggestions that it was under withdrawal pressures, ICICI Bank's Joint Managing Director Chanda Kochhar said, "We have retired wholesale deposits of Rs 24,000 crore in the last six months. At the same time, we have increased the Current and Savings Account (CASA) by Rs 3,000 crore in this period." "It is our conscious decision since last year to reduce our reliance on bulk deposits and shift our focus on retail deposits to reduce our costs of carrying money," she added. CASA as percentage of total deposits had increased from 25 per cent in last September to 30 per cent this September and it was something that one should go by in terms of customer confidence and low-cost deposits, she added. On reports that the bank, which fell prey to a spate of rumors casting doubts about its financial health, Kochhar told PTI in a telephonic interview from Chennai that "on the contrary, the financial health of the bank is only improving". "We have shifted our focus on retail deposits and they are on the rise. During the one year ending September, retail deposits have surged to over 52 per cent of the total deposits from less than 50 per cent and bulk deposits have come down to 48 per cent from over 50 per cent," Kochhar, who is also Chief Financial Officer of the Bank, said. As a result of slew of measures, ICICI Bank has increased its Capital Adequacy Ratio to 14.2 per cent from 13.2 per cent, she said claiming that "we have probably the highest CAR among banks in the country". Coutrsy:2 Nov, 2008, 1420 hrs IST, PTI