ICICI Bank asks Kochhar to remain on leave

ICICI Bank on Monday announced the appointment of Sandeep Bakhshi as the interim head, and said CEO Chanda Kochhar would be on leave till the completion of the internal enquiry against her in the Videocon loan matter.

Bakhshi, who is currently MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, would take over as the bank's COO on June 19, subject to various approvals.

In line with the highest levels of governance and corporate standards, Chanda has decided to go on leave till the completion of the enquiry as announced on May 30, 2018, the bank said.

Chanda and her family members are facing allegations of quid pro quo and conflict of interest with respect to a loan extended to the Videocon group.

Last month, the bank had announced an independent enquiry into the allegations against Chanda, following a complaint from a whistle-blower.

The bank's board also recommended the appointment of N S Kannan as MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company.

Earlier, the bank had said that Chanda had gone on planned annual leave and not on forced leave, as has been reported in a section of the media.

In a regulatory filing, ICICI Bank had also said that it has not appointed any search committee to find a successor to Chanda.