Chanda Kochhar offers to be reappointed on board of ICICI Securities

New Delhi: ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, who is on indefinite leave pending a probe against her in an alleged quid pro quo in loan sanctioning case, has offered herself to be reappointed on the board of ICICI Securities.

Kochhar is set to retire from the board of ICICI Securities, a subsidiary of ICICI Bank.

“In terms of section 152 of the Act and Articles of Association of the Company, Chanda Kochhar would retire by rotation at the forthcoming AGM and is eligible for re-appointment. The annual general meeting (AGM) of ICICI securities is on August 30.

“Chanda Kochhar has offered herself for re-appointment,” said the annual report for 2017-18 of ICICI Securities. Kochhar is the Chairperson of the bank’s subsidiary.

There are allegations of impropriety on part of Kochhar in ICICI Bank extending loans to some companies and enjoying reciprocal benefits. It has been alleged that her family members, including her husband Deepak Kochhar, got financial favours from the borrowers against the loans sanctioned by the bank.

Sebi has already served a notice on Kochhar on dealings of the bank with Videocon Group and Nupower. An independent probe has also been launched by ICICI Bank board to look into the matter. There are eight members on the board of ICICI Securities of which four are independent directors, two are non-executive non-independent directors who are nominated from ICICI Bank and two are whole time directors.

Two members–Managing Director & CEO Shilpa Kumar and Executive Director Ajay Saraf are the whole-time directors on the board of ICICI Securities. ICICI Securities, Headquartered in Mumbai, offers financial services including brokerage, financial product distribution and investment banking, catering to both retail and institutional clients.

During fiscal ended March 2018, the company was listed on the stock exchanges through the initial public offer (IPO). The IPO was completed through an offer for sale by holding company ICICI Bank.