'Srikrishna panel report on Kochhar brings a closure to ICICI Bank's travails'

The Srikrishna Committee report on former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar provides conclusive outcome to re-examine its processes and strengthen them - especially those related to conflict of interest, a proxy advisory firm said.

An independent enquiry conducted by retired Supreme Court judge B N Srikrishna has indicted Kochhar, who had led the bank for nearly a decade, for violating various regulations, following which the lender decided to stop all unpaid retirement benefits and also recover bonuses paid to her since 2009.

The conclusions of the report were definitive -- Chanda Kocchar had violated ICICI Bank's conflict of interest policy and failed in her fiduciary responsibility, advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services said in a statement, adding that as a consequence, the report asked for a clawback of her bonuses and stock options from April 2009.

These developments have been a distraction for the lender in what has clearly been a particularly challenging year for all banks, it said.

The conclusive outcome has provided an opportunity to re-examine its processes and strengthen them - especially those related to conflict of interest. ICICI Bank, its employees and the board must now quickly move on, it said.

"...the completion of this investigation will help bring some level of closure for the bank's investors," it said.

The CBI investigation will continue to be an overhang, but the burden of proof for a legal process is far higher than an investigation into policy violations. And this report helps distance the bank from the actions its erstwhile CEO, it added.