NOTES FORMING PART OF THE ACCOUNTS
The following disclosures have been made taking into account the requirements of Accounting Standards (ASs) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines.
1. Earnings per share
Basic and diluted earnings per equity share are computed in accordance with AS 20 - Earnings per share. Basic earnings per equity share is computed by dividing net profit/ (loss) after tax by the weighted average number of equity shares outstanding during the year. Diluted earnings per equity share is computed using the weighted average number of equity shares and weighted average number of dilutive potential equity shares outstanding during the year.
3. Capital adequacy ratio
The Bank is subject to the Basel III capital adequacy guidelines stipulated by RBI with effect from April 1, 2013. As per the guidelines, the Tier-1 capital is made up of Common Equity Tier-1 (CET1) and Additional Tier-1.
Basel III guidelines require the Bank to maintain a minimum Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of 11.70% with minimum CET1 CRAR of 8.20% and minimum Tier-1 CRAR of 9.70%. The minimum total CRAR, Tier-1 CRAR and CET1 CRAR requirement include capital conservation buffer of 2.50% and additional capital requirement of 0.20% on account of the Bank being designated as Domestic Systemically Important Bank.
4. LIQUIDITY COVERAGE RATIO
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) had introduced the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) in order to ensure that a bank has an adequate stock of unencumbered high quality liquid assets (HQLA) to survive a significant liquidity stress lasting for a period of 30 days. LCR is defined as a ratio of HQLA to the total net cash outflows estimated for the next 30 calendar days. As per the RBI guidelines, the minimum LCR required to be maintained by banks is 100.0%.
Liquidity of the Bank is managed by the Asset Liability Management Group (ALMG) under the central oversight of the Asset Liability Management Committee (ALCO). For the domestic operations of the Bank, ALMG-India is responsible for the overall management of liquidity. For the overseas branches of the Bank, a decentralised approach is followed for day-to-day liquidity management, while a centralised approach is followed for long-term funding in co-ordination with Head-Office. Liquidity in the overseas branches is maintained taking into consideration both host country and the RBI regulations.
HQLA primarily includes government securities in excess of minimum statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) and to the extent allowed under marginal standing facility (MSF) and facility to avail liquidity for LCR (FALLCR) of ' 3,538,601.0 million at March 31, 2024 (March 31, 2023: ' 2,753,045.5 million).
As per the RBI guidelines, the carve-out from SLR under FALLCR was 16.0% of Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) for Marginal Standing Facility (MSF), it was 2.0% of NDTL. Additionally, cash, balance in excess of cash reserve requirement with RBI and balances with central banks at our overseas branches locations amounted to ' 215,857.4 million at March 31, 2024 (March 31, 2023: ' 320,660.8 million). Further, average level 2 assets, primarily consisting of AA- and above rated corporate bonds and commercial papers, amounted to ' 146,666.4 million at March 31, 2024 (March 31, 2023: ' 127,857.7 million).
At March 31, 2024, top liability products/instruments and their percentage contribution to the total liabilities of the Bank were term deposits of 43.65% (March 31, 2023: 40.37%), savings account deposits of 21.49% (March 31, 2023: 23.97%), current account deposits of 10.34% (March 31, 2023: 10.19%) and bond borrowings of 3.33% (March 31, 2023: 4.26%). Top 20 depositors comprised 3.44% of the total deposits of the Bank at March 31,2024 (March 31, 2023: 3.47%). Further, the total borrowings mobilised from significant counterparties (from whom the funds borrowed were more than 1.00% of the Bank’s total liabilities) were 1.43% of the total liabilities of the Bank at March 31, 2024 (March 31, 2023: 2.48%).
The weighted cash outflows are primarily driven by unsecured wholesale funding which includes non-operational deposits and unsecured debt. During the three months ended March 31, 2024, unsecured wholesale funding contributed 62.08% (March 31, 2023: 60.57%) of the total weighted cash outflows. The non-operational deposits include term deposits with premature withdrawal facility. Retail deposits including deposits from small business customers and other contingent funding obligations constituted 17.99% (March 31, 2023: 18.17%) and 7.66% (March 31, 2023: 7.29%) of the total weighted cash outflows, respectively. The other contingent funding obligations primarily included bank guarantees (BGs) and letters of credit (LCs) issued on behalf of the Bank’s clients.
In view of the margin rules for non-centrally cleared derivative transactions issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and discussion paper issued by the RBI, certain derivative transactions would be subject to margining and consequent collateral exchange would be as governed by Credit Support Annex (CSA). The Bank has entered into CSAs which would require maintenance of collateral. The Bank considers the increased liquidity requirement on account of valuation changes in the transactions settled through Qualified Central Counterparties (QCCP) in India including the Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) and other exchange houses as well as for transactions covered under CSAs. The potential outflows on account of such transactions have been considered based on the look-back approach prescribed in the RBI guidelines.
The average LCR of the Bank for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was 122.84 % (March 31, 2023: 124.13%). The Bank also monitors the LCR in US Dollar currency which was the only significant currency, other than Indian Rupee, as it constituted more than 5.00% of the balance sheet size of the Bank during the year ended March 31, 2024.
5. Information about business and geographical segments Business Segments
Pursuant to the guidelines issued by RBI on AS 17 - Segment Reporting, the following business segments have been reported.
• Retail Banking includes exposures which satisfy the four criteria of orientation, product, granularity and low value of individual exposures for retail exposures laid down in Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) document ‘International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards: A Revised Framework’. This segment also includes income from credit cards, debit cards, third party product distribution and the associated costs.
• Wholesale Banking includes all advances to trusts, partnership firms, companies and statutory bodies, which are not included under Retail Banking.
• Treasury includes the entire investment and derivative portfolio of the Bank.
• Other Banking includes leasing operations and other items not attributable to any particular business segment.
• Unallocated includes items such as tax paid in advance net of provision, deferred tax and provisions to the extent reckoned at the entity level.
Income, expenses, assets and liabilities are either specifically identified with individual segments or are allocated to segments on a systematic basis.
All liabilities are transfer priced to a central treasury unit, which pools all funds and lends to the business units at appropriate rates based on the relevant maturity of assets being funded after adjusting for regulatory reserve requirements.
The transfer pricing mechanism of the Bank is periodically reviewed. The segment results are determined based on the transfer pricing mechanism prevailing for the respective reporting periods.
'RBI’s Master Direction on Financial Statements - Presentation and Disclosures, requires to sub-divide ‘Retail banking’ into (a) Digital Banking (as defined in RBI circular on Establishment of Digital Banking Units dated April 7, 2022) and (b) Other Retail Banking segment. Accordingly, the segmental results for retail banking segment for the year ended March 31, 2024 is sub-divided as below:
7. Employee Stock Option Scheme (ESOS)/ Employees Stock Unit Scheme (ESUS)
In terms of the ESOS, as amended, the maximum number of options granted to any eligible employee in a financial year shall not exceed 0.05% of the issued equity shares of the Bank at the time of grant of the options and aggregate of all such options granted to the eligible employees shall not exceed 10.0% of the aggregate number of the issued equity shares of the Bank on the date(s) of the grant of options in line with SEBI Regulations. Under the stock option scheme, eligible employees are entitled to apply for equity shares. In April 2016, exercise period was modified from 10 years from the date of grant or five years from the date of vesting, whichever is later, to 10 years from the date of vesting. In June 2017, exercise period was further modified to not exceed 10 years from the date of vesting of options as may be determined by the Board Governance, Remuneration & Nomination Committee to be applicable for future grants. In May 2018, exercise period was further modified to not exceed 5 years from the date of vesting of options as may be determined by the Board Governance, Remuneration & Nomination Committee to be applicable for future grants.
Options granted after March 2014 vest in a graded manner over a three-year period with 30%, 30% and 40% of the grant vesting in each year, commencing from the end of 12 months from the date of grant other than certain options granted in April 2014 which vested to the extent of 50% on April 30, 2017 and the balance on April 30, 2018 and option granted in September 2015 which vested to the extent of 50% on April 30, 2018 and balance 50% vested on April 30, 2019. Options granted in January 2018 vested at the end of four years from the date of grant. Certain options granted in May 2018, vested to the extent of 50% on May 2021 and balance 50% on May 2022.
Options granted prior to March 2014 except mentioned below, vested in a graded manner over a four-year period, with 20%, 20%, 30% and 30% of the grants vesting in each year, commencing from the end of 12 months from the date of grant. Options granted in April 2009 vested in a graded manner over a five-year period with 20%, 20%, 30% and 30% of grant vesting each year, commencing from the end of 24 months from the date of grant. Options granted in September 2011 vested in a graded manner over a five-year period with 15%, 20%, 20% and 45% of grant vesting each year, commencing from the end of 24 months from the date of the grant.
The exercise price of the Bank’s options, except mentioned below, is the last closing price on the stock exchange, which recorded highest trading volume preceding the date of grant of options. In February 2011, the Bank granted 16,692,500 options to eligible employees and whole-time Directors of the Bank and certain of its subsidiaries at an exercise price of ' 175.82. This exercise price was the average closing price on the stock exchange during the six months ended October 28, 2010. Of these options granted, 50% vested on April 30, 2014 and the balance 50% vested on April 30, 2015.
The Board of Directors at its Meeting held on June 28, 2022, approved the adoption of Employees Stock Unit Scheme - 2022 (Scheme 2022), which was subsequently approved by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting held on August 30, 2022.
As per the Scheme, maximum of 100,000,000 Employee stock units (units), shall be granted in one or more tranches over a period of 7 years from the date of approval of the Scheme 2022 by the shareholders. The maximum number of units granted to any eligible employee shall not exceed 20,000 units in any financial year and 0.14% of the total units available for grant over a period of seven years from the date of approval of the unit scheme by the shareholders.
Units granted under the Scheme 2022 shall vest not later than the maximum vesting period of 4 years. Exercise price shall be the face value of equity shares of the Bank i.e. ' 2 for each unit (as adjusted for any changes in capital structure of the Bank).
Units granted under the scheme vest in a graded manner over a three-year period with 30%, 30% and 40% of the grant vesting in each year, commencing from the end of 13 months from the date of grant. Exercise period of units is five years from the date of vesting, or such shorter period as may be determined by the Board Governance, Remuneration & Nomination Committee for each grant.
The weighted average fair value, based on Black-Scholes model, of options granted during the year ended March 31, 2024 was ' 340.59 (year ended March 31, 2023: ' 291.15) and of units granted during the year ended March 31, 2024 was ' 879.43.
Risk free interest rates over the expected term of the option/units are based on the government securities yield in effect at the time of the grant. The expected term of an option/units is estimated based on the vesting term as well as expected exercise behavior of the employees who receive the option/units. Expected exercise behavior is estimated based on the historical stock option/units exercise pattern of the Bank. Expected volatility during the estimated expected term of the option/units is based on historical volatility determined based on observed market prices of the Bank's publicly traded equity shares. Expected dividends during the estimated expected term of the option/units are based on recent dividend activity.
At March 31, 2024, the weighted average remaining contractual life of stock units outstanding was 6.24 years.
The options were exercised regularly throughout the period and weighted average share price as per National Stock Exchange price volume data during the year ended March 31, 2024 was ' 972.60 (year ended March 31, 2023: ' 832.00).
8. Subordinated debt
During the year ended March 31, 2024, the Bank has not raised subordinated debt bonds qualifying for Additional Tier-1 capital (March 31, 2023: Nil) and subordinated debt qualifying for Tier-2 capital (March 31, 2023: Nil).
14. Sales and transfers of securities to/from Held to Maturity (HTM) category
During the year ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023, the value of sales/transfers of securities to/from HTM category did not exceed 5.0% of the book value of investments held in HTM category at the beginning of the year. Sales and transfers of securities to/from HTM category does not include one-time transfer of securities, direct sales from HTM for bringing down SLR holdings consequent to a downward revision in SLR requirements by RBI, sales to RBI under open market operation auctions and government securities acquisition programme, repurchase of government securities by Government of India and state development loans by concerned state government under buyback or switch operations and additional shifting of securities explicitly permitted by RBI.
15. Derivatives
The Bank is a participant in the financial derivatives market. The Bank deals in derivatives for balance sheet management, proprietary trading and market making purposes whereby the Bank offers derivative products to its customers, enabling them to hedge their risks.
Dealing in derivatives is carried out by identified groups in the treasury of the Bank based on the purpose of the transaction. Derivative transactions are entered into by the treasury front office. Treasury and Securities Service Group (TSSG) conducts an independent check of the transactions entered into by the front office and also undertakes activities such as confirmation, settlement, accounting, risk monitoring and reporting and ensures compliance with various internal and regulatory guidelines.
The market making and the proprietary trading activities in derivatives are governed by the Investment policy and Derivative policy of the Bank, which lays down the position limits, stop loss limits as well as other risk limits. The Risk Management Group (RMG) lays down the methodology for computation and monitoring of risk. The Risk Committee of the Board (RCB) reviews the Bank’s risk management policy in relation to various risks including credit and recovery policy, investment policy, derivative policy, asset liability management (ALM) policy and operational risk management policy. The RCB comprises independent directors and the Executive Director of the Bank.
The Bank measures and monitors risk of its derivatives portfolio using such risk metrics as Value at Risk (VaR), stop loss limits and relevant greeks for options. Risk reporting on derivatives forms an integral part of the management information system.
The use of derivatives for hedging purposes is governed by the hedge policy approved by ALCO. Subject to prevailing RBI guidelines, the Bank deals in derivatives for hedging fixed rate, floating rate or foreign currency assets/liabilities. Transactions for hedging and market making purposes are recorded separately. For hedge transactions, the Bank identifies the hedged item (asset or liability) at the inception of the hedge itself. The effectiveness is assessed at the time of inception of the hedge and periodically thereafter.
Based on RBI circular issued on June 26, 2019, the accounting of hedge relationships established after June 26, 2019 is in accordance with the Guidance note on Accounting for Derivative Contracts issued by ICAI. The swaps
under hedge relationships established prior to that date are accounted for on an accrual basis and are not marked to market unless their underlying transaction is marked-to-market. Gains or losses arising from hedge ineffectiveness, if any, are recognised in the profit and loss Account. The premium on option contracts is accounted for as per Foreign Exchange Dearlers Association of India (FEDAI) guidelines.
Over the counter (OTC) derivative transactions are covered under International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) master agreements with the respective counter parties. The exposure on account of derivative transactions is computed as per RBI guidelines.
The Board of Directors has authorised ALCO to review and approve matters, as applicable, pertaining to the LIBOR transition to alternate risk free rates. A LIBOR Working Group has been constituted which reviews the progress on the international front, and the work carried out alongside Indian Banking Association (IBA). An update on the activities on the LIBOR transition and the proceedings of the Working Group are presented quarterly to ALCO. The necessary changes were implemented in the treasury system of the Bank to handle the transition of existing trades to the alternate risk free rates. The transition was carried out for the LIBORs (GBP, JPY, EUR, CHF) that ceased on December 31, 2021 and USD LIBORs ceased on June 2023 (except for trades whose last fixing was prior to June 2023 will continue as USD LIBOR linked trades till expiry).
As per the Master circular on Basel III Capital Regulations issued by RBI on April 1, 2022 on capital adequacy computation, ‘Banks in India shall adopt the comprehensive approach, which allows fuller offset of collateral against exposures, by effectively reducing the exposure amount by the value ascribed to the collateral’. Therefore, counterparty exposure has been fully off-set against the collateral received from the counterparty. The excess collateral posted over the net MTM payable was reckoned as exposure till FY2023. Since the collateral received is counterparty-wise and not product-wise, the derivative exposure reported above has not been adjusted for the collateral received/posted. At March 31, 2024, collateral utilised against the exposure was ' 19,378.6 million (March 31, 2023: ' 11,761.9 million), excess collateral posted over the exposure was ' 63.5 million (March 31, 2023: ' 1,118.2 million) and the net credit exposure on foreign exchange and derivatives, subsequent to collateral netting, was ' 770,046.9 million (March 31, 2023: ' 779,752.9 million).
The net overnight open position (NOOP) at March 31, 2024 (as per last NOOP value reported to RBI for the year ended March 31, 2024) was ' 1,980.0 million (March 31, 2023: ' 4,710.8 million).
The Bank has no exposure in credit derivative instruments (funded and non-funded) including credit default swaps (CDS) and principal protected structures at March 31, 2024 (March 31, 2023: Nil).
17. Forward rate agreement (FRA)/Interest rate swaps (IRS)/Cross currency swaps (CCS)
The Bank enters into FRA, IRS and CCS contracts for balance sheet management and market making purposes whereby the Bank offers derivative products to its customers to enable them to hedge their interest rate risk and currency risk within the prevalent regulatory guidelines.
A FRA is a financial contract between two parties to exchange interest payments for ‘notional principal’ amount on settlement date, for a specified period from start date to maturity date. Accordingly, on the settlement date cash payments based on contract rate and the settlement rate, which is the agreed bench-mark/reference rate prevailing on the settlement date, are made by the parties to one another.
An IRS is a financial contract between two parties exchanging or swapping a stream of interest payments for a ‘notional principal’ amount on multiple occasions during a specified period. The Bank deals in interest rate benchmarks like Mumbai Inter-Bank Offered Rate (MIBOR), Indian Government Securities Benchmark Rate (INBMK), Mumbai Inter-Bank Forward Offer Rate (MIFOR) and Alternative Reference Rates (ARR) like Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA), Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) and Tokyo Overnight Average Rate (TONAR) etc.
A CCS is a financial contract between two parties exchanging interest payments and principal, wherein interest payments and principal in one currency would be exchanged for interest payments and principal in another currency.
These contracts are subject to the risks of changes in market interest rates and currency rates as well as the settlement risk with the counterparties.
I n accordance with RBI guidelines, the loans and advances held at the overseas branches that are identified as impaired as per host country regulations for reasons other than record of recovery, but which are standard as per the extant RBI guidelines, are classified as NPAs to the extent of amount outstanding in the host country. At March 31, 2024, the Bank has not classified any loans as NPAs at overseas branches due to host country regulations (at March 31, 2023: NPAs of ' 8,229.0 million and provision of ' 4,623.0 million which are included in the above table).
19. Divergence in asset classification and provisioning for NPAs
In terms of the RBI circular no. DOR.ACC.REC.No.74/21.04.018/2022-23 dated October 11, 2022, banks are required to disclose the divergences in asset classification and provisioning consequent to RBI’s annual supervisory process in their notes to accounts to the financial statements, wherever either (a) the additional provisioning requirements assessed by RBI exceed 5% (10% till March 31, 2023) of the reported net profits before provisions and contingencies or (b) the additional gross NPAs identified by RBI exceed 5% (10% till March 31, 2023) of the published incremental gross NPAs for the reference period, or both. Based on the condition mentioned in RBI circular, no disclosure on divergence in asset classification and provisioning for NPAs is required with respect to RBI’s supervisory process for the year ended March 31, 2023 and for the year ended March 31, 2022.
20. General provision on standard assets
The general provision on standard assets held by the Bank at March 31, 2024 was ' 58,631.6 million (March 31, 2023: ' 47,022.4 million). The Bank made general provision on standard assets amounting to ' 11,548.3 million during the year ended March 31, 2024 (year ended March 31, 2023: ' 5,795.6 million). General provision on standard assets is made on global loan portfolio as below:
• Farm credit to agricultural activities, individual housing loans sanctioned on or after June 7, 2017 and advances to Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) sectors at 0.25%, advances to Commercial Real Estate sector at 1.00% and to Commercial Real Estate - Residential Housing Sector at 0.75%, all other loans and advances at 0.40%
• At overseas branches, provision is made at higher of RBI and host country guidelines
• Credit exposures computed as per the current marked-to-market (MTM) value of the contract arising on account of the interest rate and foreign exchange derivatives, credit default swaps and gold exposures, provision is made at the rate applicable to respective categories of advances
• Loans and advances to entities with unhedged foreign currency exposures, provision is made ranging from 0.10% to 0.80% depending on likely loss due to exchange rate movement
• Exposures to the wholly owned subsidiaries of the overseas subsidiaries of Indian companies at 2.00%
• Standard advances to stress sectors based on evaluation of risk and stress in various sectors as per the Board approved policy of the Bank
• Incremental exposure of the banking system in excess of Normally Permitted Lending Limit (NPLL) on borrowers classified as specified borrower at 3.00%
30. Factoring business
At March 31, 2024, the outstanding receivables acquired by the Bank under factoring business were ' 109,134.0 million (March 31, 2023: ' 54,281.8 million) which are reported under ‘Bills purchased and discounted’ in Schedule 9 - Advances of the balance sheet.
31. Risk category-wise country exposure
As per the extant RBI guidelines, the country exposure of the Bank is categorised into various risk categories listed in the following table. The funded country exposure (net) of the Bank as a percentage of total funded assets for United States of America was 1.50% (March 31, 2023: 2.74%). As the net funded exposure to United States of America at March 31, 2024, exceeded 1% of total funded assets (March 31, 2023: United States of America), the Bank held a provision of ' 280.0 million on country exposure at March 31, 2024 (March 31, 2023: ' 365.0 million) based on RBI guidelines. The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the details of exposure (net) and provision held by the bank.
32. Unsecured advances against intangible assets
The Bank has not made advances against intangible collaterals of the borrowers, which are classified as ‘Unsecured’ in the financial statements at March 31, 2024 (March 31, 2023: Nil).
33. Revaluation of fixed assets
The Bank follows the revaluation model for its premises (land and buildings) other than improvements to leasehold property as per AS 10 - ‘Property, Plant and Equipment’. As per the Bank’s policy, annual revaluation is carried out through external valuers, using methodologies such as direct sales comparison method and income capitalisation method and the incremental amount has been taken to revaluation reserve. The revalued amount at March 31, 2024 was ' 54,451.1 million (March 31, 2023: ' 54,723.8 million) as compared to the historical cost less accumulated depreciation of ' 23,608.2 million (March 31, 2023: ' 24,099.2 million).
The revaluation reserve is not available for distribution of dividend.
35. Debt assets swap transactions
During the year ended March 31, 2024, the Bank did not acquire any non-banking assets under debt-asset swap transactions (year ended March 31, 2023: Nil).
During the year ended March 31, 2024, the Bank has sold one non-banking asset having book value of ' 827.7 million for consideration of ' 691.5 million (year ended March 31, 2023: Nil). Assets amounting to ' 2.6 million were transferred from banking assets to non-banking asset during the year ended March 31, 2024 (year ended March 31, 2023: Nil).
The net book value of non-banking assets acquired in satisfaction of claims by the Bank outstanding at March 31, 2024 amounted to Nil (March 31, 2023: Nil), net of provision held of ' 28,189.9 million (March 31, 2023: ' 29,011.8 million).
The Bank has contributed '4,837.6 million to provident fund for the year ended March 31, 2024 (year ended March 31, 2023: ' 3,846.1 million), which includes compulsory contribution made towards employee pension scheme under Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
Superannuation Fund
The Bank has contributed ' 334.3 million for the year ended March 31, 2024 (year ended March 31, 2023: ' 302.0 million) to Superannuation Fund for employees who had opted for the scheme.
National Pension Scheme (NPS)
The Bank has contributed ' 349.3 million for the year ended March 31, 2024 (year ended March 31, 2023: ' 279.8 million) to NPS for employees who had opted for the scheme.
The Bank has assessed its obligations arising in the normal course of business, including pending litigations, proceedings pending with tax authorities and other contracts including derivative and long term contracts. In accordance with the provisions of AS 29 on ‘Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets’, the Bank recognises a provision for material foreseeable losses when it has a present obligation as a result of a past event and it is probable that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation, in respect of which a reliable estimate can be made. In cases where the available information indicates that the loss on the contingency is reasonably possible or the amount of loss cannot be reasonably estimated, a disclosure to this effect is made as contingent liabilities in the financial statements. The Bank does not expect the outcome of these proceedings to have a materially adverse effect on its financial results.
43. Provision for income tax
The provision for income tax (including deferred tax) for the year ended March 31, 2024 amounted to ' 135,995.6 million (March 31, 2023: ' 105,247.3 million).
The Bank has a comprehensive system of maintenance of information and documents required by transfer pricing legislation under section 92-92F of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Bank is of the opinion that all transactions with international related parties and specified transactions with domestic related parties are primarily at arm's length so that the above legislation does not have material impact on the financial statements.
44. Deferred tax
At March 31, 2024, the Bank has recorded net deferred tax assets of ' 59,546.3 million (March 31, 2023: ' 75,034.5 million), which have been included in other assets.
46. Proposed dividend on equity shares
The Board of Directors at its meeting held on April 27, 2024 has recommended a dividend of ' 10 per equity share for the year ended March 31, 2024 (year ended March 31, 2023: ' 8 per equity share). The declaration and payment of dividend is subject to requisite approvals.
VI. Letters of comfort
The Bank issues letters of comfort (LoCs) on behalf of its subsidiaries. As required by Reserve Bank of India, the Bank has carried out an annual financial assessment of LoCs issued on behalf of its subsidiaries, and there is no financial impact arising from the outstanding LoCs at March 31, 2024 as detailed below.
The Bank has issued a LoC on behalf of its banking subsidiary ICICI Bank UK PLC to Financial Services Authority, UK (now split into two separate regulatory authorities, the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority) to confirm that the Bank intends to financially support ICICI Bank UK PLC in ensuring that it meets all of its financial obligations as they fall due. There was no financial impact of this LoC on the Bank at March 31, 2024.
The Bank has issued a LoC on behalf of its banking subsidiary ICICI Bank Canada to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), Canada to confirm that it shall provide an ongoing financial, managerial and operational support to ICICI Bank Canada. There was no financial impact of this LoC on the Bank at March 31, 2024.
The Bank has issued an undertaking on behalf of ICICI Securities Inc. Singapore for Singapore dollar 10.0 million (currently equivalent to ' 617.4 million) (March 31, 2023: ' 617.9 million) to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and has also executed seven (March 31, 2023: six) indemnity agreements on behalf of ICICI Bank Canada to its independent directors for a sum not exceeding Canadian dollar 2.5 million each (currently equivalent to ' 153.2 million), aggregating to Canadian dollar 17.5 million [currently equivalent to ' 1,072.2 million (March 31, 2023: ' 910.0 million)]. The aggregate amount of ' 1,689.5 million at March 31, 2024 (March 31, 2023: ' 1,527.9 million) is included in the contingent liabilities.
At the time of demerger of general insurance business of Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd. to ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd. (ICICI General), and subsequently in relation to increase of Bank’s shareholding in ICICI General upto 4% in multiple tranches, the Bank had issued undertakings to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) that it shall infuse capital, if required by ICICI General, in proportion to its shareholding in ICICI General at the relevant time to meet its business and/or solvency requirements. There was no financial impact of these LoCs on the Bank at March 31, 2024.
In addition to the above, the Bank has also issued LoCs in the nature of letters of awareness on behalf of its nonbanking financial subsidiaries ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. and ICIG Home Finance Co. Ltd. for other incidental business purposes, to maintain ownership stake and to give information about the ownership and management. These letters of awareness are in the nature of factual statements or confirmation of facts and do not create any financial impact on the Bank.
51. Penalties/fines imposed by RBI and other banking regulatory bodies
RBI imposed a penalty of ' 121.9 million on October 17, 2023 based on the deficiency observed in regulatory compliance with the Banking Regulation Act, during statutory inspection for supervision evaluation (ISE 2020 and ISE 2021) of the Bank conducted by RBI (year ended March 31, 2023: Nil).
52. Disclosure on Remuneration Compensation policy and practices (A) Qualitative Disclosures
a) Bodies that oversee remuneration.
• Name, composition and mandate of the main body overseeing remuneration
The Board Governance, Remuneration and Nomination Committee (BGRNC/ Committee) is the body which oversees the remuneration aspects. The functions of the Committee include recommending appointments of Directors to the Board, identifying persons who are qualified to become Directors and who may be appointed in senior management in accordance with the criteria laid down and recommending to the Board their appointment and removal, formulate a criteria for the evaluation of the performance of the whole time/ independent Directors and the Board and to extend or continue the term of appointment of independent Directors on the basis of the report of performance evaluation of independent Directors, recommending to the Board a policy relating to the remuneration for the Directors, Key Managerial Personnel, Material Risk takers (MRTs) and other employees, recommending to the Board the remuneration (including performance bonus, share-linked instruments and perquisites) to wholetime Directors (WTDs) and senior management, approving the policy for and quantum of variable pay payable to members of the staff including senior management, key managerial personnel, material risk takers and formulating the criteria for determining qualifications,
positive attributes and independence of a Director, framing policies on Board diversity, framing guidelines for the Employees Stock Option Scheme, Employees Stock Unit Scheme and deciding on the grant of the Bank’s stock options/ units to employees and WTDs of the Bank and its subsidiary companies, as applicable.
• External consultants whose advice has been sought, the body by which they were commissioned, and in what areas of the remuneration process.
During the year ended March 31, 2024, the Bank employed the services of a reputed consulting firm for market benchmarking in the area of compensation, including executive compensation.
• Scope of the Bank’s remuneration policy (eg. by regions, business lines), including the extent to which it is applicable to foreign subsidiaries and branches
The Compensation Policy of the Bank, as last amended by the BGRNC and the Board at their Meetings held on February 17, 2024 and February 15-17, 2024. The Policy covers all employees of the Bank, including those in overseas branches of the Bank. In addition to the Bank’s Compensation Policy guidelines, the overseas branches also adhere to relevant local regulations.
• Type of employees covered and number of such employees
All employees of the Bank are governed by the Compensation Policy. The total number of permanent employees of the Bank at March 31, 2024 was 135,900.
b) Design and structure of remuneration processes
• Key features and objectives of remuneration policy
The Bank has under the guidance of the Board and the BGRNC, followed compensation practices intended to drive performance within the framework of prudent risk management. This approach has been incorporated in the Compensation Policy, the key elements of which are given below.
o Effective governance of compensation: The BGRNC has oversight over compensation. The Committee defines Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for WTDs and equivalent positions and the organisational performance norms for variable pay based on the financial and strategic plan approved by the Board. The KPIs include both quantitative and qualitative aspects defined with sub parameters. The BGRNC assesses organisational performance and based on its assessment, it makes recommendations on variable pay for employees. It also recommends to the Board the compensation for WTDs & equivalent positions and senior management subject to necessary approvals, wherever applicable.
• Alignment of compensation philosophy with prudent risk taking: The Bank seeks to achieve a prudent mix of fixed and variable pay, with a higher proportion of variable pay at senior levels and no guaranteed bonuses. Compensation is sought to be aligned to both financial and nonfinancial indicators of performance including aspects like risk management, other assurance areas like compliance & audit functions and customer service. The Bank’s performance management framework is based on the "One Bank, One Team" approach emphasising the overall performance of the Bank, within the guardrails of risk and compliance. The Bank’s Employees stock option scheme and Employees stock unit scheme aim at aligning compensation to long-term performance through grants that vest over a period of time. Compensation of staff in audit, compliance and risk control functions is independent of the business areas they oversee.
Changes, if any, made by the remuneration committee in the firm’s remuneration policy during the past year, and if so, an overview of any changes that were made.
• Process followed by the Bank to ensure that the risk and compliance employees are remunerated independently of the businesses they oversee:
The compensation of staff engaged in assurance functions like Audit, Risk and Compliance depends on their performance, which is based on achievement of the key goals of their respective functions. They are not assessed on business targets.
c) Ways in which current and future risks are taken into account in the remuneration processes.
• Key risks that the Bank takes into account when implementing remuneration measures
The Board approves the Enterprise Risk Management framework (ERM) and Risk Appetite Framework (RAF) for the Bank. The business activities of the Bank are undertaken within this framework. The RAF includes the definition of risk capacity, risk appetite statements and drill down of the same into limits/thresholds for various risk categories. The Bank’s KPIs which are applicable to WTDs & equivalent positions as well as employees (excluding assurance functions), incorporated relevant risk management related aspects. For example, in FY2024, in addition to performance indicators in areas such as Profit before tax excluding treasury gains, performance indicators included aspects such as asset quality, risk management framework, stakeholder relationships, customer service and leadership development. The BGRNC takes into consideration all the above aspects while assessing organisational performance and making compensation-related recommendations to the Board.
• Nature and type of key measures used to take account of these risks, including risk difficult to measure.
The annual Key Performance Indicators and performance evaluation incorporated both qualitative and quantitative aspects including, risk management framework, stakeholder relationships, timely compliance and closure of audit issues, customer service and leadership development.
• Ways in which these measures affect remuneration
Every year, the financial plan/targets are formulated in conjunction with a risk framework with limit structures for various areas of risk/lines of business, within which the Bank operates. To ensure effective alignment of compensation with prudent risk taking, the BGRNC takes into account adherence to the risk framework in conjunction with which the financial plan/targets have been formulated. The Bank’s KPIs which are applicable to WTDs and equivalent positions as well as employees (excluding assurance functions), incorporated relevant risk management related aspects and regulatory compliance. For example, in FY2024, in addition to profit before tax excluding treasury gains, performance indicators also included aspects such as asset quality, risk management framework, stakeholder relationships, customer service and leadership development. The BGRNC takes into consideration all the above aspects while assessing organisational performance and making compensation-related recommendations to the Board.
• The nature and type of these measures that have changed over the past year and reasons for the changes, as well as the impact of changes on remuneration.
The nature and type of these measures have not changed over the past year and hence, there is no impact on remuneration.
d) Ways in which the Bank seeks to link performance during a performance measurement period with
levels of remuneration
• Main performance metrics for Bank, top level business lines and individuals
The main performance metrics for FY2024 included profit before tax excluding treasury gains, regulatory compliance, risk management processes, stakeholder relationships, customer service and leadership development.
• Methodology followed whereby individual remuneration is linked to the Bank-wide and individual performance
The BGRNC takes into consideration above mentioned aspects while assessing performance and making compensation-related recommendations to the Board regarding the performance assessment of WTDs and equivalent positions.
• The measures that the Bank will in general implement to adjust remuneration in the event that performance metrics are weak, including the Bank’s criteria for determining ‘weak’ performance metrics
The Bank’s Compensation Policy outlines the measures the Bank will implement in the event of a reasonable evidence of deterioration in financial performance. Should such an event occur in the manner outlined in the policy, the BGRNC may decide to apply malus/clawback on none, part or all of the relevant variable compensation.
e) Ways in which the Bank seeks to adjust remuneration to take account of the longer term performance
• The Bank’s policy on deferral and vesting of variable remuneration and, if the fraction of variable remuneration that is deferred differs across employees or groups of employees, a description of the factors that determine the fraction and their relative importance
The variable compensation is in the form of share-linked instruments or cash or a mix of cash and share-linked instruments. The quantum of variable pay for an employee does not exceed a certain percentage (as stipulated in the compensation policy) of the total fixed pay in a year. The proportion of variable pay to total compensation is higher at senior levels and lower at junior levels. At least 50% of the compensation is variable for WTDs, CEO and MRTs as a design. However, they can earn lesser variable pay based on various performance criteria. For WTDs, CEO and MRTs, a minimum of 60% of the total variable pay is under deferral arrangement (deferment). Additionally, at least 50% of the cash component of the variable pay is under deferment. If the cash component is under ' 2.5 million, the deferment is not applicable.
• The Bank’s policy and criteria for adjusting deferred remuneration before vesting and (if permitted by national law) after vesting through claw back arrangements
The deferred portion of variable pay pertaining to the assessment year or previous year/s (as defined in the policy) is subject to malus, under which the Bank prevents vesting of all or part or none of the unvested variable pay in the event of the assessed divergence in the Bank’s provisioning for NPAs or in the event of a reasonable evidence of deterioration in financial performance or in the event of gross misconduct and/or other acts as mentioned in the policy. In such cases (other than assessed divergence), variable pay already paid out may also be subjected to clawback arrangements, as defined in the compensation policy.
f) Different forms of variable remuneration that the Bank utilises and the rationale for using these different forms
• Forms of variable remuneration offered. A discussion of the use of different forms of variable remuneration and, if the mix of different forms of variable remuneration differs across employees or group of employees, a description of the factors that determine the mix and their relative importance
The variable compensation is in the form of share-linked instruments or cash or a mix of cash and share-linked instruments. The Bank pays performance linked retention pay (PLRP) to its front-line staff and junior management. PLRP aims to reward front line and junior managers, mainly on the basis of skill maturity attained through experience and continuity in role which is a key differentiator for customer service. The Bank pays performance bonus and share-linked instruments to relevant employees in its middle and senior management. The variable pay payout schedules are sensitive to the time horizon of risks as defined in the policy.
The Bank ensures higher proportion of variable pay at senior levels and lower variable pay for frontline staff and junior management levels
Payment of compensation in the form of remuneration to the Non-Executive Directors
For the year ended March 31, 2024, fixed remuneration of ' 14.2 million has been paid to Non-Executive Directors/ Independent Directors (other than part-time chairman). Mr. Girish Chandra Chaturvedi (part-time Chairman) was paid a remuneration of ' 3.5 million during FY2024 excluding sitting fees.
Pursuant to RBI circular dated February 9, 2024, each Non-Executive Directors/Independent Directors (other than part-time chairman) will be paid a remuneration of ' 3.0 million per annum on a pro-rata basis with effect from February 10, 2024, subject to approval of the shareholders. During the year ended March 31, 2024, provision of ' 1.1 million has been made for making payment for the difference on account of the enhancement on receipt of shareholders approval.
For the year ended March 31, 2023, fixed remuneration of ' 14.0 million had been paid to Non-Executive Directors/ Independent Directors (other than part-time chairman) and Mr. Girish Chandra Chaturvedi (part-time Chairman) was paid a remuneration of ' 3.5 million excluding sitting fees.
56. Drawdown from reserves
The Bank has not drawn any amount from reserves during the year ended March 31, 2024 (year ended March 31, 2023: Nil).
57. Investor Education and Protection Fund
The unclaimed dividend amount, due for transfer to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) during the year ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023, has been transferred without any delay.
58. Implementation of IFRS converged Indian Accounting Standards
In January 2016, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs issued the roadmap for implementation of new Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS), converged with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), for scheduled commercial banks, insurance companies and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). However, currently the implementation of Ind AS for banks has been deferred by RBI till further notice pending the consideration of some recommended legislative amendments by the Government of India. The Bank is in an advanced stage of preparedness for implementation of Ind AS, as and when these are made applicable to the Indian banks. Further, there may be new regulatory guidelines and clarifications in some critical areas of Ind AS application, which the Bank will need to suitably incorporate in its implementation.
During FY2023, Reserve Bank of India, through its discussion paper on “Introduction of Expected Credit Loss framework for provisioning by banks” has proposed to adopt an expected credit loss framework based on the approach as per Indian Accounting Standard (Ind AS) 109, supplemented by regulatory backstops wherever necessary. Further, during FY2024, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a master direction on classification, valuation and operation of investment portfolio of commercial banks (Directions), 2023, which became effective from April 1, 2024. The revised master direction brings the classification and accounting of investments closer to Ind AS. The Bank has implemented the required changes as per the master direction with effect from April 1, 2024.
59. Disclosure on lending and borrowing activities
The Bank, as part of its normal banking business, grants loans and advances, makes investment, provides guarantees to and accept deposits and borrowings from its customers, other entities and persons. These transactions are part of Bank’s normal banking business, which is conducted ensuring adherence to all regulatory requirements.
Other than the transactions described above, no funds have been advanced or loaned or invested (either from borrowed funds or share premium or any other sources or kind of funds) by the Bank to or in any other persons or entities, including foreign entities (“Intermediaries”) with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the Intermediary shall lend or invest in party identified by or on behalf of the Bank (Ultimate Beneficiaries). The Bank has also not received any fund from any parties (Funding Party) with the understanding that the Bank shall whether, directly or indirectly lend or invest in other persons or entities identified by or on behalf of the Funding Party (“Ultimate Beneficiaries”) or provide any guarantee, security, or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries.
60. Comparative Figures
Figures of the previous year have been re-grouped to conform to the current year presentation.
|