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Journalism of Courage
ICICI Bank, the country’s largest private sector bank, has reported a 50 per cent fall in its net profit and a 27 per cent surge in non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans during the fourth quarter ended March 2018 even as the bank’s MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar, who is facing allegations of conflict of interest while sanctioning loans to the Videocon group, said that the bank’s board had made its stand clear on the issue of conflict and the CEO’s role and refusing to comment further on the issue in her first media interaction after the controversy erupted in March this year.
“The board has made its stand clear… and we don’t have anything more to add,” Kochhar said when reporters repeatedly asked her about the silence maintained by her as well as the bank at a conference call with journalists and later at an interaction with television channels. “(We are) talking of Q4 results now and we should focus on that. And I think the board has already clarified,” she said.
Asked as to whether she was planning to step aside as the MD and CEO of the bank following the allegations of a possible quid pro quo on the loans given to Videocon and the succession planning at the bank, Kochhar said the board did not discuss these issues. “When has a board which is meeting for approving the quarterly results ever discussed the succession plan or other affairs,” Kochhar countered.
Kochhar said the bank will co-operate with all regulators and agencies on the issue.
The Indian Express had first reported on records that showed Videocon group promoter Venugopal Dhoot provided crores of rupees to a firm promoted by Deepak Kochhar and two relatives six months after the Videocon Group received Rs 3,250 crore as loan from ICICI Bank in 2012. Chanda Kochhar was part of the credit committee that approved the loan extended to the Videcon group in 2012.
Read | I-T Dept questions ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar’s husband Deepak
The CBI had initiated a preliminary enquiry into the matter to check any wrongdoing, while other agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate are also investigating the case. However, the bank’s board has stood firmly behind Chanda Kochhar, saying no wrong was committed by the MD and CEO.
ICICI Bank’s board will meet again on Tuesday to discuss strategy and budget and planning for 2018-19, Kochhar said. Today’s board meeting was not attended by the government nominee on the bank’s board- Lok Ranjan. The bank’s standalone net profit plummeted by 50 per cent to Rs 1,020 crore in the fourth quarter as against Rs 2024 crore in the same period of last year as provisions for bad assets shot up to Rs 6,625 crore as against Rs 2,898 crore previously.
Gross non-performing assets rose 27 per cent to Rs 54,062 crore (8.84 per cent as a percentage of gross advances) from Rs 42,551 crore (7.89 per cent) at the end of March 2017. Net NPA, however, marginally declined to 4.77 per cent from 4.89 per cent. The bank said there were gross NPA additions of Rs 15,737 crore, including Rs 9,968 crore of loans which were under RBI schemes and were classified as standard December 31, 2017. The bank has reported recoveries and upgrades of Rs 4,234 crore from non-performing loans in Q4 of 2018.
