Chanda Kochhar quits ICICI bank, Sandeep Bakshi succeeds

Chanda Kochhar sought early retirement, the bank said on Thursday.

"The Board of Directors of ICICI Bank accepted the request of Chanda Kochhar to seek early retirement from the bank at the earliest. The Board accepted this request with immediate effect," the company informed the bourses on Thursday.

Kochhar, 56, who had headed ICICI Bank since May 2009, is also stepping down from the board of directors of its units, the bank added.

In June, Kochhar went on an indefinite leave pending an external enquiry against her on allegations of conflict of interest and quid pro quo charges relating to a loan given to Videocon group.

ICICI Bank assured her  that the ongoing probe into allegations of financial impropriety and conflict of interest against her will remain unaffected.  "The enquiry instituted by the Board will remain unaffected by this and certain benefits will be subject to the outcome of the enquiry," the board said.

Meanwhile, the bank said independent director MD Mallya has resigned from the board. Kochhar will also relinquish office from the Board of Directors of the bank's subsidiaries.

Kochhar has been under  an investigation for allegedly flouting corporate governance norms. Allegations of impropriety against her were first raised in October 2016 by an ICICI Bank shareholder, who alleged a quid pro quo on Kochhar’s part as ICICI Bank had granted loans to Videocon Group, whose promoter Venugopal Dhoot had investments in NuPower Renewables, which is owned by Chanda's husband Deepak Kochhar.