Chanda Kochhar quits ICICI Bank; enquiry against her to continue

ICICI Bank Managing Director Chanda Kochhar has resigned from the bank with immediate effect. The board of the bank has accepted the request of Kochhar to seek early retirement, according to a regulatory filing.

“The board accepted this request with immediate effect. The enquiry instituted by the board will remain unaffected by this and certain benefits will be subject to the outcome of the enquiry,” said the bank in a statement on Thursday.

The board has decided to appoint Sandeep Bakhshi as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

His appointment will be for a period of five years until October 3, 2023, subject to various approvals.

Kochhar was sent on leave till the completion of an independent investigation into charges of conflict of interest against her in a case of her husband being a beneficiary of loans from the bank’s borrowers.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing into allegations that the ICICI Bank chief’s husband Deepak Kochhar's company NuPower Renewables received an investment from a Videocon group company as a quid pro quo for a loan from the bank.

Bakhshi had taken the helm on an interim basis last June, after Kochhar had been sent on leave pending an inquiry. He is a former head of the life insurance arm at ICICI Bank, which is India's third largest lender by assets.

The bank clarified that Kochhar’s post retirement benefits would be subject to inquiry outcome. It also said that the enquiry proceedings initiated against Kochhar will remain unaffected by this development.

With PTI inputs