Salary Blues
The proposed capping of bankers compensation will encourage quality growth but also hit profitability and risk taking ability of the institution.
The close to Rs 3 crore basic salary of Shikha Sharma, the Axis Bank CEO who quit last year, kept growing steadily even when the fortunes of the bank were sinking. In spite of a sharp deterioration in asset quality, profitability and valuation, thanks mostly to her bets in the infrastructure space, the bank's board did not see merit in tinkering with her compensation structure.
It was only in April last year, when 60 year old Sharma's fourth term was due for renewal, that the Reserve Bank of India, or RBI, put its foot down. Sharma, who had come from
