Transactions back to normal: ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank, which kept its branches specially open in Mumbai and Gujarat on Sunday as a measure of customer confidence, witnessed normal tra...

ICICI Bank, which kept its branches specially open in Mumbai and Gujarat on Sunday as a measure of customer confidence, witnessed normal transactions and there was no pressure at the ATMs, a senior bank official said here.

Some customers even deposited money in branches in Gujarat, which had witnessed panic withdrawals by customers since Friday night.

“The banking operations were normal in the country and withdrawals were less than those seen on any normal day. In fact, 90-100 customers deposited money at branches in Gujarat,” ICIC Bank executive director Chanda Kochar told PTI.

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There was no pressure at ATMs or branches and “at any point of time, there were not more than five customers at any branch,” Kochar said.

Senior bank officials in Ahmedabad said there were negligible crowds at ATMs, withdrawals at various branches in Gujarat were low at Rs 1.25 crore and customer made deposits to the tune of Rs 40 lakhs on Sunday.

The bank, with an assets base of Rs 100,000 crore, will keep its branches in Gujarat and Mumbai open tomorrow also even though it is a holiday on account of Ambedkar Jayanti.

The Friday night run on the ICICI Bank had yesterday spread from Gujarat to Mumbai with panicked customers thronging its branches and ATMs to withdraw money. But by evening the situation had eased a bit following RBI’s assurance that the bank’s health is sound.

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Regarding the rumour that triggered the run, the bank’s regional manager for Gujarat R Nagarajan said “a detailed post mortem would be conducted once people have settled down from withdrawals and the bank begins to function normally”.

Kochar said good logistics management and a network of 1,700 ATMs helped the private sector bank to deal with the pressure on the system.

RBI’s clarification on the bank’s financial soundness and liquidity also helped to reinforce confidence, she said.

The ICICI Bank is going ahead with its business expansion plans in Gujarat, Nagarajan said.