ICICI Bank, Lloyds TSB ink deal for transfers

ICICI Bank has tied up with UK-based financial services provider Lloyds TSB to provide customers with free money transfers between UK and India and access to rupee mortgage for Indian property purchases.

"The India Banking Service is the first of its kind to be offered by a UK high street bank, and is aimed at providing a one-stop shop to help the Indian population manage their finances and property purchases," ICICI Bank said in a release.

Following the tie-up, customers transferring money between UK and India would benefit from preferential exchange rates, and would have access to Lloyds TSB's 2,000 UK branches and ICICI Bank's network of 560 branches in India.

After a successful pilot, the India Banking Service is now being rolled out to Lloyds TSB's branches across the UK.

"Customers who want to take advantage of the free money transfers or the rupee mortgage would need to open a Lloyds TSB current account," the release said, adding, the bank would then open an account with ICICI Bank in India on their behalf.

"The India Banking Service is designed with the needs of this community in mind and should help a large and vital part of the population get most out of their money," Gordon Rankin, director of Lloyds TSB community financial services, said.

Sonjoy Chatterjee, managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank UK, said the unique platform would leverage the complementary strengths of both ICICI Bank and Lloyds TSB in a way that truly meets the customer's financial needs in an efficient manner.