INDIACSR News Network
GUJARAT: ICICI Bank Limited, India’s largest private sector bank, today announced the launch of 23 new Gramin branches across Gujarat, as part of its financial inclusion plan that aims at providing banking services in unbanked villages.
All these branches have been opened in small villages, which were so far devoid of any banking facility.
In Gujarat, 23 branches have been opened across seven districts namely Banas Kantha, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Mehsana, Rajkot and Surendranagar. Branches opened in Banas Kantha district are Kumbhalmer, Therwada, Bhachalava and Khodla; Bhardravad, Chaparyali, Parvala, Timbi and Varal in Bhavnagar district; Jambuda and Khijadiya in Jamnagar district; Gadodar and Kalwani in Junagadh district; Badarpur and Chhabaliya in Mehsana district; Mandlikpur and Ferani in Rajkot district; and Gediya, Jarwala, Kherva, Malvan, Ramagri and Jainabad in Surendranagar district.
With these launches, ICICI Bank has opened 49 rural branches in Gujarat. The addition of these new branches has increased the network of ICICI Bank in Gujarat to 236 branches.
Rajiv Joshi, Zonal Head (Rural & Inclusive Banking Group, Gujarat) of ICICI Bank said, “ICICI Bank recognises and accords great importance to rural and inclusive growth. It is our constant endeavour to provide the entire gamut of financial services in rural and remote areas, which include credit, savings, investments and insurance products. In line with this approach, we have launched 23 Gramin branches, which will provide all basic banking services in unbanked villages, which is a key part of our Financial Inclusion strategy.”
These Gramin branches will offer all the basic banking services such as::
Farmer Finance through Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and Agri-term Loan (ATL) for the cultivation and development of agricultural land.
Rural Business Credit (RBC) to meet working capital and term loan requirements of business entities in rural and semi- urban areas.
Overdraft (OD) against fixed deposits (FD) under the Bank’s Kisan Kalpavriksha scheme for rural customers.
Various basic savings accounts to the customers based on their profile and requirements.
ICICI Bank is also engaged in Electronic Benefit Transfers (EBT) for disbursement of wages to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers and Social Security Pension beneficiaries.
Recently, the Bank has partnered with the Gujarat administration for facilitating student scholarship through the business correspondent model. Through this system, the Bank would be supporting students of Sabarkantha district. ICICI Bank is the sole banking partner in this initiative of Gujarat Administration. The Bank also utilizes Direct Benefit Transfer scheme to transfer Social Security Pension money to beneficiaries.
ICICI Bank has 3,377 branches and over 11,000 ATMs spread across the country. The Bank services its large customer base through a multi-channel delivery network of branches, ATMs, call center and internet banking (www.icicibank.com).
About ICICI Bank: ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE:IBN) is India’s largest private sector bank and the second largest bank in the country, with consolidated total assets of over $ 124 billion at March 31, 2013. ICICI Bank’s subsidiaries include India’s leading private sector insurance companies and among its largest securities brokerage firms, mutual funds and private equity firms. ICICI Bank’s presence currently spans 19 countries, including India.
Except for the historical information contained herein, statements in this release, which contain words or phrases such as ‘will’, ‘would’, etc., and similar expressions or variations of such expressions may constitute ‘forwardlooking statements’. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to our ability to obtain statutory and regulatory approvals and to successfully implement our strategy, future levels of non-performing loans, our growth and expansion in business, the adequacy of our allowance for credit losses, technological implementation and changes, the actual growth in demand for banking products and services, investment income, cash flow projections, our exposure to market risks as well as other risks detailed in the reports filed by us with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
ICICI Bank undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date thereof.
