ICICI Bank launches holistic digital offering for corporates

On whether the bank expected revenues from fees or interest income, she said the lender is not looking at it from a line-by-line perspective and expects the initiative to play into overall profits.

ICICI Bank on Wednesday launched a set of banking solutions for corporates and their entire ecosystem, including promoters, group companies, employees, dealers, vendors and other stakeholders.

Terming it as ‘ICICI STACK’, the bank said it would provide customised digital banking services to companies in over 15 sectors such as financial services, IT/ITeS, pharmaceuticals, steel and their entire ecosystem. The bank has opened eight ecosystem branches for this initiative in order to supplement its digital efforts. The lender plans to launch another four branches in FY22.

Vishakha Mulye, executive director, said, “With an objective to cater to the ecosystem of every corporate, we have launched a digital ‘ICICI Stack for Corporates’ with many industry-first features. We look forward to partnering with our customers for the banking needs of their entire ecosystem and unlock the full potential.”

The second-largest private sector lender said corporates were slower in adopting digital solutions compared to the retail segment, and added that the solution focused on tech-based new age offerings. Underlining the importance of the ecosystem approach it has taken, Mulye said corporates needed a trusted partner who would handhold and help manage the business holistically.

“Availing credit for a reasonably good corporate is not an issue today. We are sitting on excess liquidity, credit demand is not much,” Mulye said.

Mulye explained that apart from generating loan demand, the initiative will help get an entire ecosystem of vendors of corporates to the bank, start salary account relationships and result in other banking relationships on trade, finance and transaction banking.

On whether the bank expected revenues from fees or interest income, she said the lender is not looking at it from a line-by-line perspective and expects the initiative to play into overall profits.

Mulye said the bank expected corporate demand to pick up in the next economic cycle. “For India to grow faster post the pandemic, both investment as well as consumption demand will have to fire,” she said.

The bank witnessed a 13% year-on-year growth in corporate advances during the March quarter of the previous fiscal.