Brits Struggling to Save Post-Recession

LONDON, May 12, 2010 - Whilst higher earners in the South of the UK take home an
average of GBP1,665* per month, the average adult has only GBP131 a week to
live on after outgoings are deducted. Adults in the North of the UK earn a
monthly average of GBP1474, and only have GBP110 to live on per week after
outgoings - as living costs increase across the country and the North/South
divide begins to blur, ICICI Bank UK Plc reports that more than two in five
adults (44%) do not expect to have any money to save in the next month.

At a time when Britain is reported to be slowly emerging from
recession, ICICI Bank research is the first to track the true financial
health of British adults on a city by city basis across the UK. ICICI Bank
interviewed more than 2,000 adults across 15 UK cities, asking them about
their spending and savings habits for the month ahead.

A National Viewpoint:

Living costs:

London is the most expensive City to live in - GBP798 monthly
in outgoings per person

Plymouth is the second most expensive City after London - GBP785 monthly

Manchester is the cheapest for living costs - GBP603 monthly

Payments for existing debts:

Cardiff adults have the highest amount to pay toward debt payments -
GBP171 per person per month

Edinburgh has the least amount of debt to pay on a monthly basis - GBP115

Amount spent on everyday social and luxury items:

Those in Bristol splash out more on luxuries than anywhere else in
Britain - GBP209 compared to a national average of GBP175

People in Birmingham are most frugal when it comes to luxury living -
spending GBP281 per person per month

Saving and investing:

Highest savers are in Leeds - GBP144 per person per month

Lowest savers are in Southampton - GBP56 per person per month

New borrowing:

Guilty of borrowing the most are those in Manchester - GBP61 per person
per month

Best at not borrowing is Bristol - GBP21 average per month

Amount in a savings or deposit account:

Highest total savings are in London - GBP13,624.74

Lowest total savings are in Edinburgh - GBP7,373.90

Anubrata Biswas, Head of Retail Banking for HiSAVE comments:
"It is essential that people in Britain continue to prioritise savings,
rather than borrowing, as the path for a sound economic future. Our index
clearly shows, city by city, that Britons are taking positive action to clear
debt and save more, but by moving from a standard savings account to a fixed
rate savings account, they could be earning much more interest, freeing up
more of their earnings and start planning for a brighter future."

Average basic salaries vs monthly outgoings, by city:

    UK cities   Basic Salary    Monthly       Difference
                per month after outgoings
                income tax      (made up of
                                amount spent
                                on essential
                                living costs,
                                existing
                                debts, amount
                                spent on
                                everyday
                                social and
                                luxury items,
                                borrowing and
                                savings &
                                investments)
    Oxford      GBP1,768.34     GBP1,218.30   GBP550.04
    Brighton    GBP1,768.34     GBP1,114.00   GBP654.34
    Southampton GBP1,768.34     GBP1,025.80   GBP742.54
    Bristol     GBP1,446.64     GBP1,167.80   GBP278.84
    Edinburgh   GBP1,489.62     GBP1,155.20   GBP334.42
    Nottingham  GBP1,467.78     GBP981.20     GBP486.58
    Leeds       GBP1,235.52     GBP1,283.10   -GBP47.58
    Cardiff     GBP1,379.04     GBP1,232.80   GBP146.24
    Newcastle   GBP1,604.02     GBP886.20     GBP717.82
    Norwich     GBP1,651.18     GBP970.20     GBP680.98
    Manchester  GBP1,494.82     GBP914.30     GBP580.52
    Plymouth    GBP1,446.64     GBP1,097.40   GBP349.24
    Glasgow     GBP1,579.42     GBP986.10     GBP593.32
    London      GBP2,090.06     GBP1,288.60   GBP801.46
    Birmingham  GBP1,448.38     GBP1,026.80   GBP421.58

References:

* ONS DATA

Notes to editors

1. The HiSAVE research was conducted by Vision Critical among a weighted,
GB representative sample of 2,000 adults in April 2010. This sample was
supplemented to give a minimum representative sample of 100 people in each of
the 15 cities surveyed.

2. Photography and further HiSAVE product information is available on
request.

3. The HiSave City Saving Index will be published every three months to
reveal the changing financial fortunes of British cities. To be added to the
priority email list for forthcoming releases, email your contact details to:
icicipressuk@fd.com

4. About HiSAVE and ICICI Bank UK PLC (website www.hisave.co.uk
and www.icicibank.co.uk):

HiSAVE is ICICI Bank UK PLC's range of interest online savings accounts.
About 175,000 UK savers trust HiSAVE to look after their hard-earned savings.
The HiSAVE savings range consists of:

    - The HiSAVE Savings Account: an easy access savings account with one
      consistently high interest rate for everyone plus a unique guarantee
      that the AER will beat the Base Rate by at least 0.30% until at least
      December 2011. The minimum balance is just GBP1 and there are no
      penalties or notice periods for withdrawals. The current interest rate
      is 1.70% AER.

    - The HiSAVE Fixed Rate Account: a range of fixed rate savings accounts
      that enable customers to avoid interest rate fluctuations by saving a
      lump sum for a fixed term (of either 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48 and 60
      months) in return for a fixed interest rate (the current interest rates
      are 1.5%AER,2.75%AER, 3.20%AER, 3.85% AER, 4.35% AER, 4.35% AER and 5%
      AER respectively). The minimum balance is just GBP1000.

ICICI Bank UK PLC is a UK bank offering retail, corporate and investment
banking services in the UK and Europe. It is:

    - Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority

    - A member of the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

    - A subscriber to the Lending Code - a voluntary code that sets the
      standards for good banking practice

    And:

    - Has been operating in the UK since 2003 and for the financial year
      ending 31 March 2009 we had assets in excess of $7.3 billion.

    - Has a strong capital adequacy ratio: 16% (as at 30 June 2009). A banks
      capital adequacy ratio is a measure of a bank's capital relative to its
      risk. Banks have specific capital adequacy requirements to ensure they
      can absorb a reasonable amount of loss and are complying with their
      statutory capital requirements. The UK government has recently
      recapitalised a number of UK banks to help get their capital adequacy
      ratio up to a healthier ratio - around 12%. ICICI Bank UK PLC's capital
      adequacy is considerably higher than this 12% benchmark.

    - Has a credit rating of Baa2 from Moody's.

    - Is part of a global banking group that looks after 25 million customers
      worldwide.

The product and services mentioned in this press release are provided by
ICICI Bank UK PLC and are subject to terms & conditions (available on
www.hisave.co.uk and www.icicibank.co.uk or at any of our
branches) ICICI Bank and the "I man" logo are the trademarks and property of
ICICI Bank Limited.

For more information or to arrange interviews, contact:

Guy Bellamy/ Lisa Donohue/ Rosie Dodd

+44-(0)20-7269-717/ 7219/ 7112

Guy.Bellamy@fd.com/ Lisa.Donohue@fd.com/ Rosie.Dodd@fd.com

For more information or to arrange interviews, contact: Guy Bellamy/ Lisa Donohue/ Rosie Dodd, +44-(0)20-7269-717/ 7219/ 7112, Guy.Bellamy at fd.com/ Lisa.Donohue at fd.com/ Rosie.Dodd at fd.com