Indian financial institution almost accepts the French stalactites (7)
I believe the answer is:
icicles
'stalactites' is the definition.
(I have seen 'Frozen stalactites ' mean 'icicles' so perhaps 'stalactites' could also mean 'icicles')
'indian financial institution almost accepts the french' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'the french' could be 'les' (plural form of 'the' in French) and 'les' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for icicles that I've seen before include "Pendent spears of frozen water (7)" , "Frozen pendants" , "Hanging spikes of frozen water" , "Frozen drips" , "Frozen stalactites" .)