Thailand Financial News

Moody’s Investors Service assigned first time foreign currency bank deposit ratings of Baa1/Prime-2 and a D- bank financial strength rating to ICICI Bank UK Ltd. The outlooks on all ratings are stable.
The Baa1/P-2 long- and short-term bank deposit ratings of ICICI Bank UK Ltd are the result of joint probabilities of default that are incorporated into ICICI Bank UK Ltd’s bank deposit ratings.

These include The D- bank financial strength rating reflects the banks improving financial fundamentals, as well as the relatively undeveloped franchise within the UK and its good positioning to benefit from increasing Indian investment into the UK. The bank operates through a two-pronged retail strategy in the UK with a full suite of banking products being offered, primarily to the Indian community, through a small branch network, and a deposit product that is offered through the internet. The corporate banking business is centred on providing services to Indian corporates who are investing in the UK including M&A advice, FX business and syndicating Indian paper. The banks financial fundamentals are solid with good levels of profitability (recurring earning power reached almost 1.5% in the year to end-March 2006), good efficiency, and good levels of capitalisation. Asset quality is excellent, reflecting the relative unseasoning of the portfolio as well the conservative criteria that the bank has in place, although the bank does have high lending concentrations. Based in London, United Kingdom, ICICI Bank UK Ltd had total assets of USD3.4 billion (EUR2.7 billion) at end-September 2006. –www.theasianbanker.com (October 31 2006)–