India's ICICI Bank Exits Antwerp

RAPAPORT... India's ICICI Bank will shut its branch in Antwerp onMarch 29, becoming the latest lender to quit the Belgian diamond market. The move followed a strategic review of ICICI's businessoperations in the country, a spokesperson for the company confirmed Wednesday.The bank has asked customers to close their accounts by February 28, accordingto a December 28 note to its clients, seen by Rapaport News. India-based Union Bank also announced it was leaving theAntwerp market last year, citing the disappointing performance of its diamondbusiness. Belgium's KBC closed its Antwerp Diamond Bank in 2014, whileLondon-based Standard Chartered stopped extending credit to the midstream in2016.Image: ICICI Bank headquarters in Mumbai. (Wikimedia Commons)