Kochhar may have to return Rs 9 cr bonus

​New Delhi: Former ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar, who was terminated with retrospective effect on Wednesday, may have to return over Rs 9 crore performance bonus received as the bank's executive head since 2009, sources said. Besides, she will also have to forgo her unexercised stocks options, they said. 

Kochhar became the CEO and managing director of the country's leading private sector lender in May 2009 and left the bank in October 2018. Sources divulge on Thursday that performance bonus for the last two financial years has not been approved by the RBI, therefore that amount is not taken into account in Kochhar's total bonus payout. They also said that bonuses of Axis Bank and Yes Bank chief executives and executive directors have not been approved by the central bank for the last two fiscals. 

As per the various annual reports of the bank, Kochhar was granted 94 lakh shares but it could not be verified that how much stock options she had exercised. If Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) granted to Kochhar is taken into account, the total amount comes to about Rs 340 crore at the present market value. 

However, the amount would be much less than ESOPs granted because she might have sold some shares in the last 9 years. Following an independent enquiry panel led by Justice (Retd) B N Srikrishna, the board of the ICICI Bank Wednesday decided to treat "the separation of Kochhar from the bank as a 'Termination for Cause' under the bank's internal policies, schemes and the Code of Conduct, with all attendant consequences". 

These, the statement said, include revocation of all her existing and future entitlements such as any unpaid amounts, unpaid bonuses or increments, unvested and vested and unexercised stock options, and medical benefits.