FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

ICICI Bank is racing ahead with its well-settled strategy of reimagining banking and leveraging digital capabilities. But there are challenges ahead like the expected slowdown in unsecured loans that it must navigate

- ANAND ADHIKARI

FOR 63-YEAR-OLD Sandeep Bakhshi, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer who turned ICICI Bank around, there are some basic rules of banking: seize current market opportunities, optimise capital, and strike a balance between risk-return metrics.

He has followed those rules religiously over the past few years, when he has been at the helm of affairs. He has used the insights emanating from them to build a 360-degree customer-centric approach to tap opportunities across segments, leverage technology, build partnerships, and simplify processes.

Thanks to these efforts, there has been a significant shift in ICICI Bank’s orientation away from a corporate-focussed banking model towards one that is more retail. While the share of vehicle loans, rural banking, and SMEs in the loan mix has more or less remained consistent over the last five years, this may reflect the higher risk perception associated with them. However, Bakhshi swiftly seized the significant opportunity presented by business banking. His laser-focused approach, guided by a philosophy of risk and return, has rewarded the bank and its shareholders with one of the highest returns in its history.

The bank has climbed to the top of the big bank league in terms of growth, asset quality, and returns. Thanks to this, the country’s second-largest private bank has emerged as the joint winner in the Bank of the Year category in the BT-KPMG Best Banks and NBFCs Survey 2022–23.