MANAMA, 11 October 2004 — India’s second largest bank ICICI began operating its Offshore Banking Unit (OBU) in the heart of the capital Manama yesterday — the first such branch for the bank in the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf region. Top officials from the bank described the launch of the bank operations as a major stepping-stone to provide commercial bank services for thousands of India expatriates living and working in Bahrain. ICICI Managing Director and CEO K. V. Kamath said that the bank would provide customers with real time remittances that would allow funds to be transferred instantly to ICICI accounts in India, saving accounts, time deposits, India-based products and private banking to non-resident Indians customers in Bahrain.