ICICI Bank UK PLC holds euro 57 mn of Lehman bonds

Mumbai, Sep 16 (UNI) ICICI Bank today said its UK subsidiary ICICI Bank PLC held euro 57 million of senior bonds of Lehman Brothers Inc, which had filed for bankruptcy in the US.

According to a release issued by ICICI Bank today, as part of its treasury operations, ICICI Bank has undertaken transactions with Lehman Brothers entities as counter-parties.

''The exposure to Lehman Brothers entities on account of these transactions and potential loss thereon are not material,'' the release added.

Bank Joint Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer Chanda Kochhar said as on June 30, 2008, ICICI Bank and its subsidiaries had consolidated total assets of Rs 4,84,643 crore. ICICI Bank UK PLC had total assets of about USD 8.7 billion at that date. ICICI Bank PLC's investment of euro 57 million (approximately USD 80 million) in senior bonds of Lehman Brothers constitutes less than one per cent of ICICI Bank UK PLC's total assets, and less than 0.1 per cent of the consolidated total assets of the ICICI Group.

She said ICICI Bank UK PLC already held a provision of about USD 12 million against investment in these bonds. Considering a 50 per cent recovery estimate, the additional provision required would be about USD 28 million. There was no other material impact on ICICI Bank or ICICI Bank UK PLC on account of exposure to Lehman Brothers.

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