New York: ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector bank, is opening its first branch in the US, in New York, on Friday. K. V. Kamath, managing director and chief executive officer, and Sonjoy Chatterjee, executive director of the bank, will be present at the opening of the branch. On the occasion, Kamath will ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange, where the bank is listed.

ICICI Bank won approval last October from the US Federal Reserve to convert its representative office in New York to a full-fledged branch. The branch would engage in wholesale banking business, including trade financing and factoring services to US-based subsidiaries of Indian firms. Mumbai-based ICICI Bank has consolidated total assets of about $115 billion (Rs.4,589.5 billion) as of Dec 31,2007,and a market capitalisation of over $30 billion.

The bank's international presence currently spans 19 countries and includes three wholly owned subsidiaries in Britain, Russia and Canada, offshore banking unit in Singapore, an advisory branch in Dubai International Finance Centre, branches in Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Belgium, Qatar, Germany and representative offices in China, UAE, Bangladesh, South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Source : IANS