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ICICI, bank boards recast; Kamath's term extended by 5 years

BS Banking Bureau

The ICICI family undertook a major organisational restructuring Friday by reshuffling top brass, both in the term lending institution as well as the bank, and planning to merge three of its subsidiaries into one.

To start with, ICICI managing director and CEO KV Kamath, who completes his present tenure on April 30, gets another five-year term at the helm.

ICICI elevated two senior general managers -- Kalpana Morparia and S Mukherji -- to the post of executive directors with effect from May 1.

It also appointed Anupam Tinu Puri -- of McKinsey & Co-- as a non-wholetime director on the board, effective May 3.

With the present deputy managing director S H Bhojani slated to retire on April 22, the board strength of ICICI goes up from 15 to 17.

In a parallel move, Nachiket Mor and Chandra Kochhar of ICICI -- two senior general managers -- are appointed as executive directors at ICICI Bank for a period of five years, effective April 1, 2001. P H Ravikumar, senior executive vice president at ICICI Bank, is shifting to ICICI as senior general manager in charge of major clients group -- a portfolio currently handled by Mukherji.

In yet another reshuffle, Madhabi Puri Buch has been made managing director of ICICI Home Finance Ltd, the wholly owned mortgages business subsidiary of ICICI.

In the bank, Kochhar will head the retail banking group while Mor will oversee corporate banking. With this, the board strength of ICICI Bank goes up to 10.

Embarking on a fresh round of organisational recast, the board of ICICI Friday gave an "in-principle approval" to permit the merger of ICICI Capital Services, ICICI Web Trade and ICICI Personal Financial Services.

"We may merge all three into one or two, depending on the Reserve Bank of India regulations. Since the personal finance outfit has fund based activities it may remain a stand alone outfit while other two will merge to create one company," an ICICI source said.

With this, the number of primary subsidiaries of ICICI will be reduced to 15 or 16 from 17. Taken into consideration of secondary subsidiaries (subsidiaries of a subsidiary) the group has 27 outfits.

The recast move aims at strengthening the group synergies as the group moves towards universal banking, an ICICI release said. The expansion of the ICICI Bank board has been attributed to the expansion in activities following the merger of Bank of Madura with it.

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