India Inc says board tried to ring fence Chanda Kochhar

On January 30, a panel headed by Justice BN Srikrishna indicted former MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar for violating the bank's code of conduct in the Videocon loan case. Following the report, the bank's board said it will treat her separation as 'termination for cause' under their internal policies.

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Indian corporate honchos feel ICICI Bank's board tried to cover up Chanda Kochhar's wrongdoings after the ICICI Bank-Videocon case came to light.

"It is very disappointing as ICICI Bank is one of the credible banks and the board tried to cover it up initially and gave a clean chit to her," said a top mutual fund official on condition of anonymity.

The board in past instances had given a clean chit to Kochhar and also stood by her stance.

Also Read: Srikrishna panel indicts Chanda Kochhar; ICICI Bank to retrieve bonuses from ex-CEO 

The board was coerced to conduct an independent investigation to protect the interest of various stakeholders.

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A panel headed by Justice BN Srikrishna found the actions of Kochhar in violation of the bank's code of conduct and conflict of interest in the Videocon loan case.

Following the report, the bank's board has decided to retrieve all bonuses paid to Kochhar from April 2009 till March 2018. ICICI Bank also said the board will treat her separation as 'termination for cause' under their internal policies.

Srikrishna was assisted by a law firm and a forensic and investigative services firm for the enquiry.

On January 24, CBI booked Kochhar on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and abuse of official position for "dishonestly sanctioning loans to the Videocon Group".

Top mutual fund officials on condition of anonymity said that they would review the bank's performance and the outcome of these actions before taking any fresh calls on the stock.

However, fund houses continue to maintain their stance that ICICI Bank is a top private sector bank with strong retail franchise.

Earlier on January 30, private sector lender ICICI Bank posted a 2.7 percent year-on-year (YoY) drop in its December quarter net profit at Rs 1,604.91 crore.