CBA & ICICI Bank Partner to Strengthen Australia-India Trade

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ICICI Bank, a prominent private sector bank in India, to collaborate on providing support to customers across the Australia-India corridor.

The MoU was signed by Mike Vacy-Lyle, Group Executive of Business Banking, CBA and Rakesh Jha, Executive Director, ICICI Bank.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ICICI Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the two institutions will explore opportunities for collaboration aimed at fostering cross-border trade and investment between India and Australia. The partnership will focus on facilitating introductions between corporate and business customers interested in expanding into each other’s markets, while also providing banking services and guidance on cross-border trade opportunities. Additionally, the collaboration will assist customers migrating between India and Australia with tailored banking solutions and support cross-border payments through customer-centric solutions. This initiative aims to strengthen economic ties and create seamless financial services for businesses and individuals in both countries.

In efforts to increase understanding and accelerate growth across the Australia-India corridor, CBA is hosting workshops with customers in Sydney and Brisbane this week, where ICICI Bank has been invited to join.

The announcement comes at a time of growing economic cooperation between the two countries with the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) in effect since 29 December 2022. Under the ECTA, 85 per cent of Australian goods exports by value to India are now tariff free and 96 per cent of imports from India are now tariff-free with further tariff reductions to occur in both countries to support further trade in coming years. Government negotiations are also underway on the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) which seeks to further improve trade and investment ties, further strengthening bilateral relations.

Mike Vacy-Lyle, Group Executive of Business Banking, CBA said: “The business environment presents significant opportunities for both Australian and Indian businesses and we are excited to partner with ICICI Bank to better facilitate trade and advance prosperity in both countries. We understand that doing business in another country can present challenges as well as opportunities for businesses. That is why we are delighted to be working with ICICI Bank to give our business customers dedicated access to a leading banking partner across the corridor”.

Rakesh Jha, Executive Director, ICICI Bank said: “We are delighted to enter in a partnership with Commonwealth Bank of Australia. India has emerged as a preferred destination for foreign investments, across manufacturing, Global Capability Centres and capital markets. Australia and India have strong bilateral relations and there are several opportunities across our respective ecosystems, which this partnership seeks to harness. We are confident that ICICI Bank, with its 360-degree customer centric approach, extensive franchise and technology-enabled offerings is well placed to support CBA in serving the holistic banking requirements of its customers in India”.

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