ICICI Bank chief KV Kamath has sought to reassure customers on the financial health of the Bank.

Describing them as baseless and malicious in a regulatory filing with the exchanges, Kamath said that persistent rumours could create concern among the bank's customers.

He said ICICI Bank has a very strong capital position and has proactively raised Rs20,000 crore or about $5 billion in June 2007, almost doubling its capital base and said the bank has a consolidated total assets of over Rs484,000 crore (over $105 billion), diversified across a wide range of asset classes in India and overseas.

The bank has net worth of over Rs47,000 crore  and its capital adequacy ratio of 13.4 per cent as on 30 June 2008, was in excess of the regulatory requirement of 9.0 per cent, he pointed out.

"This is among the highest levels of capital adequacy in large Indian banks," Kamath said, adding, "This reflects the healthy capital position and comfortable level of leverage. Its' banking and non-banking subsidiaries are also well-capitalised."

The bank's after tax profit of Rs4,156 crore in financial year 2008 and Rs728 crore in the first quarter of this year, was "due to the strong core performance, which more than offset the impact of adverse debt and equity market conditions in India and globally since the second half of FY2008" he said.

"The absorption of the impact of current market conditions on investment portfolio valuation will not pose any challenge to ICICI Bank's capital position," he said.

Kamath also said the bank's wholly-owned UK subsidiary, ICICI Bank UK PLC, has "zero exposure to US sub-prime credit, and a zero non-performing loans". "About 98 per cent of its non-India investment book of $3.5 billion is rated investment grade and above, with about 89% rated A- and above," he added.

In addition, ICICI Bank UK PLC holds cash equivalent instruments (inter-bank placements and certificates of deposit) of $1.1 billion and had a capital adequacy ratio of 17.4 petr cent on the last balance sheet on 30 June 2008.

This month the bank's joint managing director Chanda Kochhar had issued a statement with Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy in the US with reports stating that ICICI Bank was expected to lose approximately $80 million (Rs375 crore), invested in Lehman's bonds through the bank's UK subsidiary. (See : Lehman's fall to cost ICICI Bank approximately $80 million)