The Hindu Business Line : ICICI Bank to see more growth in private banking portfolio

THE country's largest private sector bank, ICICI Bank, is planning to extend its private banking (targeting high net worth clients) services to more cities and is also looking at doubling its assets under management, said senior officials of the bank.

At present, the bank offers the facility in 175 cities and has Rs 25,000-crore assets under management under the private banking portfolio. This year, ICICI Bank has hired 350 personnel for this segment and plans to hire 250 more. The bank has also tied up with 26 management colleges to train lecturers on private banking, which is being offered as a subject. ICICI Bank will extend similar alliances with more colleges, said Mr Arpit Agarwal, Head-Private Banking.

The bank also conducts about 100-150 knowledge seminars across the country annually.

"We speak to our private banking customers as well as prospective clients about the Indian economy in relation to global economy, interest rates, trends in equity, etc," Mr Agarwal said.

There is plenty of scope for the private banking business in India as the country is likely to see a GDP growth of over 6 per cent and ranks fourth in purchasing power parity, worldwide, he said.

The bank offers a three-tier service in private banking. The cut-off limits are liquid financial assets of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 25 lakh and Rs 50 lakh.

Often the clients' business reflects their investment pattern, Mr Agarwal said. For instance, traders understand the risk of short-term volatility.

Therefore, such clients either invest heavily in equity or else become conservative. On the different investment trends in India and abroad, Mr Agarwal said here real estate is perceived as the safest product.

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