ICICI Bank targets 500 branch openings yearly for 2-3 years

The lender’s CEO is set to be honored by the Indian government with the Padam Bhushan to recognize his leadership skills.

India's largest private sector lender, ICICI Bank, will add 400-500 branches annually over the next three years and focus on financing infrastructure projects in road and power.

"I feel that we have to grow beyond the number of existing) branches... Over the next 2-3 years, we would continue to add branches at the rate of 400-500 per year," ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar told PTI in an interview.

The bank, which reported a 30.5 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 1,437 crore ($314.02 million) during the quarter ending December 31, has been expanding its branch network at rapid pace. Presently, it has about 2,500 branches and 5,800 ATMs.

Kochhar is here as one of the six co-chairs of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum being attended by the world's top CEOs, heads of states, academicians and even faith leaders.

The Indian government on Tuesday decided to honour Kocchar with the Padam Bhushan, a civilian award given by the state in recognition of an individual's achievements.

Talking about the expansion plans, Kochhar said the bank did not open any new branch in the current financial year, as it acquired Bank of Rajasthan "that itself meant addition of 500 branches".

View the full story in The Economic Times.