A consolidation wave of mergers and acquisitions needs to sweep the country’s banking sector, feels K V Kamath, MD and CEO of ICICI Bank.With plans to expand its network in India and abroad, the bank is chalking out ways to grow organically and expand its presence in the existing markets, Kamath said. “We are now in 18 countries and 22-23 per cent of our balance sheet is global assets. The intent is to further scale up our existing overseas operation than expanding the footprint,” he noted. Asked if fast growing China was on the bank’s radar, Kamath denied and said, “For me to assume that I can go to China and do business is not easy.” On whether the bank is mulling any possible acquisitions in India or abroad, Kamath said, “In the Indian context, one has to be very careful while looking at an acquisition because you will have to look at both the opportunity and the challenge. But a large number of older private banks are small. Whether they have any value is something that we have to understand.”However, public sector banks have their own challenge, Kamath said, while adding that there would be a consolidation that will happen, firstly among them, “given the ownership and other structures that are in place. My own view is that earlier that happens the better (it is)”.
