ICICI to open 580 new branches; no fresh hiring

Top private lender ICICI Bank plans to open nearly 600 branches this year, but will not hire as part of the current workforce would be redeployed to manage the expanded network of 2,000 branches.

"We will set up 580 new branches this year... One and half years ago we had 750 branches and one year from now, once we open these 580 branches, we will have 2,000 branches," ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar told PTI in an interview.

Kochhar, however, noted that the bank might not increase the headcount, currently at about 36,000, as it would be "re-skilling and re-training" some people in accordance with the needs of the expanded branch network.

Asked whether the employees could expect some kind of reward in the form of salary hike or other monetary benefits, Kochhar said, "Well, what we have done is (we have) already announced a moderate hike for the year. But, it's a moderate hike... It's kind of moderate increase in salaries and that's about it."

Kochhar took over as ICICI Bank MD & CEO this month from her predecessor K V Kamath, who has become non-executive chairman.