Shrinking fast

19 June 2018 By Una Galani Follow @ugalani

The boss of $30 bln ICICI Bank is on leave pending a misconduct inquiry. If she departs, the sector will lose its third female CEO in just months. That is an unhelpful coincidence in a country where far too few women work, creating a dire shortage of senior figures to emulate.

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India’s ICICI Bank said on June 18 that Managing Director and Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar would go on leave until an independent probe into alleged misconduct is completed.

It added that Sandeep Bakhshi would be appointed as a director and as chief operating officer of the country’s third-largest private sector lender by assets. ICICI’s executive directors and management will report to him, essentially leaving him as the interim head. Bakhshi has run ICICI Prudential Life Insurance since 2010.

Local media reports have claimed Kochhar, who has been CEO since 2009, favoured Videocon Group, a consumer electronics and oil and gas exploration company. Videocon's founders had an investment in a renewable energy company founded by Kochhar's husband.

ICICI Bank's board initially backed Kochhar, calling the charges "malicious and unfounded". Last month, the board said an independent probe would examine allegations raised by an anonymous whistleblower.

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