ICICI ropes in Amitabh to prop up brand
Mumbai: In its bid to dampen the plummeting ICICI scrip, the institution’s management is taking steps to rev up the brand building image. With this in mind, the FI is roping in Bollywood superstar, Amitabh Bachchan, to be their brand ambassador.

Under the proposed deal, the Big B will promote and endorse all its retail products, and give it that crorepati touch. Bachchan is said to be entering into an agreement with the institution to endorse all ICICI products like retail banking, insurance, mutual funds, and bonds, both in television as well as print advertisements.

Considering that a similar contract with BPL brought him Rs. 8 crore over a period of four years, it is expected that the current contract with ICICI will fetch him even higher amounts. Especially, since his ratings having climbed with the success of Kaun Banega Crorepati.

Sources said that ICICI had been contemplating a celebrity endorsement programme for its products. The choice was clear after the KBC success. ICICI has already entered into an agreement with Star TV, under which the winners of the prize money (above Rs 3.2 lakh) for the next 50 episodes will be presented ICICI Bank cheques. Further, whenever a contestant wins the prize money, ICICI Bank's name and logo will be flashed for five seconds.
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LIC misses IRDA deadline on equity increase
Mumbai: In what is the first instance of defying the diktats of the insurance regulatory body, Life Insurance Corporation missed the deadline to raise its equity capital to Rs 100 crore from the present level of Rs 5 crore. By doing so, it became the first insurance company to default on the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority guidelines.

IRDA had given a period of six months to LIC and the four General Insurance Corporation subsidiaries to raise their paid-up capital to Rs 100 crore.

While LIC executives and officials in the finance ministry, however, said that the life insurance company is not required to raise its equity capital, top IRDA officials maintained that LIC had to increase its equity to Rs 100 crore by yesterday.

LIC executives maintain that the equity norms are applicable only to the new life insurance companies only. The government has raised the equity in the four GIC subsidiaries because they are being delinked from the parent company.
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