ICICI Bank selects Markit CDS for risk management

London and Mumbai - Markit, the leading provider of independent data, portfolio valuations and OTC derivatives trade processing to the global financial markets, today announced that ICICI Bank, India's second largest bank with assets of over USD 79 billion, has subscribed to its Credit Default Swap (CDS) pricing service.

Under the terms of this agreement, ICICI Bank will receive Markit's daily CDS pricing to assist in the bank's management of credit risk, particularly in the complex arena of structured credit. Markit provides mark-to-market CDS pricing on around 3,300 CDS entity-tiers of debt drawn from daily price contributions from 85 dealing firms.

Suvek Nambiar, Senior General Manager at ICICI Bank, said: "Markit's CDS pricing is unparalleled and will provide ICICI Bank with critical independent price verification of our trading books across the 500 credits that we track. The transparency and accuracy of Markit's CDS prices will enhance our ability to monitor and value our positions better."

David Crammond, Managing Director of Markit Asia, commented: "We are delighted to have ICICI Bank as our first client in India, a bank that has led the way by embracing best practice and adopting the industry standard in CDS mark-to-market. Now that India's Central Bank has released draft guidelines for the trading of CDS, we expect to see increased demand for our services over the coming months."

About ICICI Bank: ICICI Bank (NYSE:IBN) is India's second largest bank and largest private sector bank with over 50 years presence in financial services and with assets of over USD 79 billion as on March 31, 2007. The Bank offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries in the areas of investment banking, life and non-life insurance, private equity and asset management. ICICI Bank is a leading player in the retail banking market and services its large customer base through a network of over 945 branches and extension counters, 3300 ATMs, call centres and internet banking (www.icicibank.com ) to ensure that customers have access to its services at all times.

ICICI Bank set up the International Banking Group (IBG) in the year 2002 to implement a focused strategy for its international banking business. Within a short span of five years, ICICI Bank's international presence currently spans 18 countries and includes wholly owned subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Canada and Russia; offshore banking units in Singapore and Bahrain; a branch in Dubai, branches in Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Belgium and Qatar; and representative offices in the United States, China, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

About Markit: Markit Group Limited ("Markit) is the leading provider of independent data, portfolio valuations and OTC derivatives trade processing to the global financial and commodities markets. The company receives daily data contributions from 85 dealing firms, and its services are used by almost 1,000 institutions to enhance trading operations, reduce risk and manage compliance. For more information, see www.markit.com