ICICI Bank:
Reaching Global Markets through Technology
Amar KJR Nayak1
The story of ICICI Bank indeed is quite exciting as we look into how the company has internationalized its business vis-a-vis the other banks from India. With the least number of international bank branches as compared to many of the other Indian banks, it stands tall in terms of its share of international business, especially in the foreign remittance business. In a short period of time, it has grown to be the largest bank in the private sector with a global foot print. Its share of international remittance business among the banks in
India has risen from 4% in 2003-04 to about 30% today while retaining over 75% of the total online international remittance business in India. How did it grow so fast? Did it face any challenges at home or outside to achieve these successes? What have been its strategies in the internationalization process of its business? In other words, what have been the secrets of its success?
Several pertinent questions come to mind when we look at the pace of growth of this company in a highly turbulent and competitive world of international banking that has been guarded for years by the well established, highly networked, international banks and remittance business houses. Let us explore some of the following issues to understand the company’s approach towards internationalization and how it broke through the old guards of international banks and remittance business houses.
• Why did ICICI Bank want to internationalize its business?
• Why did ICICI Bank choose to get into remittance business?
• What are the various sources of foreign remittance?
• How did the company reach the customers without physical presence?
• What are the various products on remittance business?
• What have been the challenges working with international partners and markets etc? • What were the basic strategies of ICICI Bank to succeed in its international
operation?