ICICI to get Singapore's ok for full banking operations

ICICI Bank, India's No. 2 lender, is expected to get Singapore's approval soon to open branches, take deposits and give loans in the city state, the Economic Times reported on Monday.                                           

Singapore has given an "in-principle clearance" to ICICI to operate as a qualified full bank (QFB), which will make it the second Indian financial firm to get such an approval after State Bank of India, it said without quoting any sources.                                        

"It is true that we have applied for QFB status in Singapore and the application is under process," a spokesman for ICICI told Reuters from Mumbai. "We will not be able to make any comment beyond that."                                           

ICICI currently offers corporate banking and services to non-resident Indians in Singapore.                                           

The Economic Times said the approval to operate as a bank in Singapore would help expand ICICI''s overseas operations after it got similar approvals in Britain and Canada.                                          

ICICI needs to complete some formalities prescribed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and is expected to start operations in a few months, the newspaper said.                                          

"Since ICICI Bank has already received an in-principle approval for operating as a QFB in Singapore, getting the remaining formalities done and starting operations will not take long," a commerce department official told the Economic Times.