ARUN KUMAR SATAPATHY - 19201242 AYAN CHATTERJEE - 19202143 SRISHTI SATRUPA MAHAPATRA - 19202182 SREYASHI KHETUA - 19202186 Introduction Chanda Kochhar is the Former Managing Director (MD) and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ICICI bank. ICICI bank is India’s largest private bank and overall second largest bank in the country. She is widely recognised for her role in shaping the retail banking sector in India and for her leadership of the ICICI Group, as well as her contributions to various forums in India and Globally. In 2014, she has been named among fortune’s 50 most powerful women in business women in the fourth consecutive year. Under the leadership of Kochhar, ICICI has transformed itself from corporate bank into a retail bank, and now a universal bank. The leading private sector bank of the country is never bereft(unbeloved) of women in senior management. Beginning with Lalita Gupte, the group has many women executives- Kalpana Morparia, Shikha Sharma, Chanda Kochhar and Renuka Ramnath. Though the legendary CEO, K.V. Kamath groomed the next generation leaders- Vishakha Mulye and Madhabi Puri-Buch, it is Kochhar who made new as his successor. Problem: with Rajiv Kochhar The CBI questioned ICICI bank CEO Chanda Kochhar’s brother-in- law Rajiv Kochhar in connection with a preliminary enquiry (PE) into allegations of nepotism and corruption in loans granted by the private sector lender to the Videocon Group. Questioned and then let off. This came days after the agency questioned a few ICICI Bank executives to ascertain whether there was any wrongdoing in the bank issuing a Rs 3250 cr loan to Videocon Group in 2012. Rajiv Kochhar, an NRI, is the CEO of Singapore- based Avista Advisory Group which advises companies on financial restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and fund-raising. Contd . It was alleged that the company may have benefited from its founder’s relationship with the ICICI bank CEO and got the mandate to restructure foreign currency- denominated debt deals of seven companies, all borrowers of the bank, as part of quid pro quo. It was further alleged that the company may have got a commission of as much as 5% for brokering loans from ICICI bank. Kochhar had denied any links with ICICI bank and allegations of any • wrongdoing. He had said that his company dealt with only international investors and not Indian banks, and that he did not do business with his brother Deepak, Chanda Kochhar’s husband and founder director of NuPower Renewables, so there was no question of favouritism Problem: with Deepak and Dhoot In this case, the agency had registered a PE about two months ago into dealings between Deepak Kochhar, Dhoot and unidentified bank officials. The complaint in this regard was first made by investor Arvind Gupta in 2016 in a letter to the PM, the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI, the Reserve Bank of India and other government agencies, seeking a probe into the matter. The ICICI bank has twice refuted(rejected) allegations that it had given a loan to the Videocon Group due to the group’s dealing with the bank CEO’s husband. Bank Chairman MK Sharma said Chanda Kochhar had made all the necessary disclosure. The bank said that it was only one of consortium of 20 lenders led by State Bank of India that had granted about Rs 40000 Cr in loans to the Videocon Group. It said the amount lent by ICICI bank was less than 10% of the total amount. Problem: with Chanda Kochhar Question of Propriety: Now, for the first time, she has her back to the wall. And her silence is as surprising as it is eloquent. Yes, the board of directors has come to her support. Their defence is on these lines- there was no conflict of interest as Videocon was not an investor in NuPower, the joint venture; that the credit committee had many independent directors; that the loan was part of a consortium; and that she made disclosures as required under various laws. The arguments are cleverly worded but this is an issue that was never only about legality. It was about Ethics. Propriety demanded that she should have disclosed to the board her ‘interest’ in the Videocon loan on the grounds that her husband had a business dealing with the group. There is no easy way of saying it- but the way out of this whole mess is for her to resign. Perhaps the Board may have to suggest it to her informally and provide her an honourable exit. The current climate of public resentment as well as intolerance for grey zones with regard to bad loans may demand nothing less. The damage to her as well as the bank’s reputation is colossal. Her moral standing and ability to demand total integrity from her staff and her effectiveness as a leader stands weakened. And the damage goes beyond just affecting the morale of the bank staff. What about those who looked up to her as a role model and aspired to reach the top? Think of the setback to those who have been arguing for privatisation of public sector banks on the grounds that they are cesspools of corruption and ineff. THANK YOU