Lately there has been much buzz/comments regarding foreign currency CD rates here at BankVibe.com. This has prompted me to showcase one particular foreign bank that, in my opinion, safely meets banking standards (even though they would reject my business because I am not a national citizen). ICICI Bank of India is India’s second largest bank with a presence in 18 countries. They were originally promoted in 1994 and quickly gained the trust of the country, accumulating roughly $82 billion (US dollars) in assets throughout their first 15 years of business.
Today they offer certificates of deposits, high yield savings accounts, and online savings accounts with rates that absolutely demolish those of the United States. After sifting through their certificate of deposit rates and reading through some customer feedback, I found that not only are these rates abnormally high, their is also an extremely loyal following. I’ve listed some of their highlighted savings rates below.
ICICI Bank Certificate of Deposit Rates
- 90 day Certificate of Deposit (as of 1/19/09) 5.75% – 6.50% APY depending on deposit amount.
- 181 day Certificate of Deposit (as of 1/19/09) 7.25% APY
- 365 day Certificate of Deposit (as of 1/19/09) 8.25% APY
- 3 year Certificate of Deposit (as of 1/19/09) 9.00% APY
These rates are, needless to say, astonishing and should be taken advantage of if qualified. While digging through their FAQ page and reading some comments I noticed that if you are a dual citizen (Indian and US) or an Indian citizen living in the United Sates you may be able to invest in their bank CD’s. However, it may require contacting them directly and jumping through some hoops.
What furthered my infatuation with this bank was a recent interview done with their CEO, K. Vaman Kamath, in which he discusses the role of technology in the future of banking.
If you have or know someone who has purchased a certificate of deposit with ICICI bank please leave a comment below. Thanks.
