ICICI says Chanda Kochhar violated code of conduct, has to return bonuses

ICICI Bank, India’s third biggest lender, said it will treat Chanda Kochhar’s resignation as “termination for cause” and will stop payment of unpaid benefits, including bonus.

ICICI Bank Ltd said on Wednesday it would treat former chief executive Chanda Kochhar’s exit from the bank as a “termination for cause” after an enquiry report ruled that she had violated internal bank policies.

Chanda Kochhar resigned in October after being mired in allegations that she favoured Videocon Group (PTI/File Photo)

The bank’s internal enquiry report said that Kochhar violated the code of conduct and framework dealing with conflict of interest.

ICICI Bank, India’s third biggest lender, said it will treat Kochhar’s resignation as “termination for cause” and will stop payment of unpaid benefits, including bonus.

This means revocation of all her existing and future entitlements such as any unpaid amounts, unpaid bonuses or increments, unvested and vested & unexercised stock options, and medical benefits, and the clawback of all bonuses paid from April 2009 until March 2018.

Kochhar resigned in October after being mired in allegations that she favoured Videocon Group, a consumer electronics and oil and gas exploration company, in the bank’s lending practices.

Videocon had got a loan of ₹40,000 crore from a consortium of 20 banks led by the State Bank of India. The ₹3,250 crore loan from ICICI Bank was a part of that.

ICICI has been in the grips of a controversy over allegations that Kochhar had favoured Videocon, a consumer electronics and oil and gas exploration company, in the bank’s lending practices. Videocon’s founders had an investment in a renewable energy company founded by Kochhar’s husband, Deepak Kochhar.