Chanda Kochhar: The fall of a much-haloed leader

The two were part of the vanguard of women bankers who led the industry for long. But the one who shined most brightly was Kochhar, who slid smoothly into the role of being the face of ICICI Bank, and also of the banking sector. She adorned magazine covers, headed lists of most powerful women, and was among the first to be consulted by the government on policy matters.

And now, her fall has been the most dramatic.

Her bank, where she joined as a trainee in 1984, declared on January 30 that its former Managing Director had violated its code of conduct, and unceremoniously "terminated" her following the Videocon loan case. To add to the slight, the bank will take back bonuses she received since 2009. It effectively erases all the credit that Kochhar would have believed she earned during her stint as the Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank.

"She became bigger than the institution," said a senior executive from the industry.

It is an indictment that Kochhar is not used to. What she is more used to, is excelling in her chosen field since her growing up years in Rajasthan.

The girl who always came first

After completing her schooling in Jaipur, Kochhar moved to Mumbai for higher studies. She got  gold medal from Institute of Cost Accountants of India, and later topped her batch at the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, where she met her husband Deepak Kochhar.

She continued to shine at ICICI Bank, where Kamath recruited her as a trainee. The senior spotted the talent and Kochhar was confirmed as an officer, months before her trainee stint ended.

When Kamath launched the retail arm of ICICI Bank, he handpicked Kochhar to lead it. The protegee, who had already made a mark in corporate lending, rapidly grew the retail arm that fueled ICICI Bank's ascension in the industry. Therefore despite strong contenders for the top post, the industry wasn't surprised that Kamath chose Kochhar to succeed him. Kochhar was 47, the bank's youngest-ever Managing Director.

The tide turned

But by 2014, the tide was turning. Though the retail expansion had seen ICICI Bank dominating the banking space, bad loan problem started cropping up with increasing intensity.

From 2016 on wards, almost each quarter was marked by provisioning that made serious dents on profits.

In early 2018, when the Punjab National Bank fraud case imploded, rurmours started floating that a head of a major private bank could be investigated for conflict of interest, and nepotism while disbursing loans.

But even after an Indian Express report removed the lid and alleged that Kochhar is to be blamed for credit disbursement to Videocon that went bad, the ICICI Bank board rallied around its chief.

“The board has come to the conclusion that there is no question of any quid pro quo/nepotism/conflict of interest as is being alleged in various rumours,” it said.

Even as recent as November 2018, nearly five months after Kochhar went on leave, the bank denied the allegations in its submission to SEBI. The Board said its code of conduct has not been violated.

The change in its opinion has been dramatic, as has been the indictment from the Justice Srikrishna panel. Admitting that its code of conduct has been violated by Kochhar, the Bank is now treating her resignation as termination, the equivalent of being fired.

Kochhar says she is "disappointed, hurt and shocked" by her former employer's charge. There is no word if she will take her company, where she spent 34 years, to the courts. If she does choose to do that, which will be an obvious route to take to salvage her legacy, it will be an extraordinary parting between the bank and its once, much-haloed leader.