Global Ratings Agency Terms Chanda Kochhar’s Fall From Grace As Weak Governance And Transparency In The Country’s Banking Sector

Global ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has reportedly said that the Chanda Kochhar case, which saw the bank board changing its views, is illustrative of the weak governance at the domestic banks.

“The recent developments surrounding former ICICI Bank chief executive Chanda Kochhar and the changing view of the bank’s board affirms our view of the generally weak governance and transparency in the country’s banking sector,” it said in a note Friday.

Kochhar was an iconic banker who rose to the top at ICICI Bank, becoming the first woman chief executive of a bank in the country.

The agency pointed out that the ICICI Bank board had fully backed Kochhar once in 2016 and twice in 2018 (in March and June) when allegations about her wrongful conduct had come up and added that the Kochhar case can lead to a relook by boards across the corporate world in the country.

“The ICICI board’s reversal of its previous strident support of Kochhar is significant in our view, and will likely result in boards across the sector being more careful in giving clean-chits to key management personnel facing allegations,” it said.