Kamath reassures depositors about bank's health

Mumbai, Oct 13 (UNI) ICICI Bank chief executive officer and managing director K V Kamath today came out strongly against rumours about the health of the bank and reassured depositors.

''Deposits are safe and we will not be cowed down by rumour mongering,'' he said while speaking to a private news channel.

He said the latest reports from Moody's and Standard&Poor's (S&P) had given the bank a clean bill of financial health.

Mr Kamath said the Union Government had taken the first necessary steps to protect the economy but more action was needed to soothe the nerves.

He said the government needs to be more articulate about the action it has taken.

Following the statment, stock of ICICI jumped 25 per cent to Rs 453.05 at the stock market this afternoon.

In another development, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said ''India will shortly announce more measures to increase the amount of cash in the financial system.'' The Minister added that the government, the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities &Exchange Board of India (SEBI) were working on a coordinated action plan.

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