ICICI Bank will pay only half the rates the State Bank of India pays on spot and long-swap transactions. While the SBI has a 60 per cent market share in the foreign exchange market and is in a position to dictate market rates, the brokerage rate offered by ICICI Bank has been accepted by some of the top foreign exchange brokers. ICICI Bank has only a 2 per cent market share in the foreign exchange market.

Brokers fear that they may be forced to accept lower rates by other financial market players too.

From 1 October 1999, the Foreign Exchange Dealers Association of India, or Fedai, had decided to let banks fix foreign exchange brokerages as they wished. The SBI immediately slashed the rates, which was and is still considered to be the benchmark rate for Indian banks.

The State Bank of India had announced that from 1 October 1999 it would bring down brokerage rates on almost all foreign exchange transactions. The rates were fixed at a maximum of Rs.1,000 per $1 million of spot transactions and Rs.1,250 per $1 million for long-swap deals. Fedai  had earlier fixed these rates at Rs.1,500 and Rs.2,000 respectively.

Fedai has freed the rates under Reserve Bank of India instructions. The Foreign Exchange Brokers Association of India had at that time said that it would take the SBI rates as the 'floor rate' and would not accept deals below these rates.