By IANS
London : ICICI Bank, India's fastest growing private bank, has opened its sixth branch in Britain in Birmingham with plans to services the financial needs of several companies in the West Midlands that have collaborations and branches in India.
The branch is of ICICI Bank UK, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of India's ICICI Bank. It has three branches in London and one each in Leicester and Manchester. The branch in Birmingham involves an investment of 250,000 pounds.
Sonjoy Chatterjee, managing director and chief executive of ICICI Bank UK, said: "From a business perspective, Birmingham and the West Midlands region are central to our growth in Britain. Our branch in Birmingham complements our coverage in Britain, and there is a natural synergy for our suite of offerings for businesses and individuals.
"In the past four years, we have established a strong retail presence, offering a variety of market leading products, such as remittances to India, where we have an approximate 30 per cent market share worth pounds 1.5 billion, and a market leading internet savings offer.
"We also recognise that Birmingham has a vibrant business community, whose needs we understand. We are confident of servicing these needs, being leading players in fostering trade and business partnerships with India linkages. Due to our size in India, we believe we are able to offer the best investment opportunities to our Birmingham customers."
He said that the bank, which has been operating in the UK for three years, had been keen to enter the Birmingham market for some time, but had held back until it could find the right location.
The bank has recently financed and advised on some major purchases of UK companies by Indian groups, including Typhoo Tea by Tata and Whyte and Mackay by the United Breweries Group.