ICICI Bank targets bigger retail credit pie

Riding high on the overall economic growth of the Indian economy, ICICI Bank is hoping to expand its reach in retail credit besides taking advantage of the growing capital requirement in the core industrial and infrastructural sectors.

Addressing the media here today, Balaji Swaminathan, senior general manager of corporate banking of ICICI, said that the credit off-take in each sector and activity is expected to increase in the coming days.

Swaminathan said that the so-called migratory shift, which denotes the upward mobility of the great Indian middle classes is almost 50 per cent.

"This will fuel the retail credit requirement which is estimated to be around Rs 1 lakh crore already," he said, adding that ICICI was looking for a bigger market share in this segment. The bank is also aiming at a higher market share in the growing private insurance industry.

A 21 per cent return on equity and in the face of expected spurt in demand for credit in all the major sectors, he put the IPO plans of ICICI as the most promising to all the prospective investors.

The bank is coming out with the public issue of equity shares aggregating Rs 3,050 crore with an additional equity shares of up to Rs 450 crore under its green shoe option.

The issue will open on April 2 and close on April 7. The bank, for the first time in India, has introduced the green shoe option as a stabilisation mechanism post-listing.

The price band is from Rs 255 to Rs 295 per equity share with a face value of Rs 10. Fiftyper cent of the issue would be allotted to institutional investors on discretionary basis and at least 25 per cent of the issue would be available for allocation to retail bidders and non-institutional buyers on a proportionate basis.

Retail investors have the option to pay only Rs 150 per share on application and the balance on call, according to a press release.

The issue would constitute up to 16 per cent of the fully diluted post issue paid-up capital of ICICI Bank, assuming no exercise of green shoe option and up to 18.2 per cent assuming the green shoe option is exercised.