Letter to BS: Chanda Kochhar needs to do a lot of soul searching and act

The ICICI Bank CEO must leave till this whole investigation is complete. Otherwise it cannot be a transparent one

This refers to “A question of propriety” (June 5). I think it is asking for too much when we know that even the main party here, ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar (pictured), has not put in her papers or taken a temporary break till this inquiry is done with. It is crystal clear that in April, when non-executive chairman of ICICI Bank, M K Sharma, had refused the probe on this matter, the board had acted in haste. Not only a new whistle-blower, this time an insider, even regulator Sebi has pulled up the ICICI Bank board and its CEO for their non-action on conflict of interest and non-disclosure. It looks now that ICICI Bank's board, which has finally agreed to probe the alleged nexus between Chanda Kochhar’s husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon Group chairman Venugopal Dhoot over a loan extended to the Videocon group, did so after a huge pressure from all the stakeholders, media and public as its reputation was at stake. I agree with your suggestion, the board should have resigned for not fulfilling their basic duty but if not that, its CEO must leave, till this whole investigation is complete. Otherwise it cannot be a transparent one.  

Now when the Indian Banking Association chief has put the blame on Kochhar, she needs to do a lot of soul searching and act. Not long ago, ICICI Bank was the second largest bank and the biggest private sector bank in India, but this episode has shown the institution in bad light. Corporate governance is one of the most critical issues for corporates, more so for a financial institution, where integrity is paramount and non-negotiable. ICICI Bank must walk an extra mile to clear its name.

Bal Govind 
Noida