"An investigation into allegations that ICICI Bank extended a loan with a potential conflict of interest raises questions over the bank's governance and creates reputational risks," the ratings agency said in a note. ICICI Bank had been in the news after whistleblower Arvind Gupta made allegations of quid pro quo against the bank over the loan given in 2012. Gupta had alleged that Venugopal Dhoot of the Videocon group had formed a joint venture, called NuPower Renewables, with Deepak Kochhar, husband of Chanda Kochhar, CEO and managing director of ICICI Bank. ICICI Bank had, however, said that proper underwriting practices were followed while providing the loan. According to PTI, some independent directors in the ICICI Bank board may not favour the continuation of Kochhar as the bank's head.

Source: The Telegraph April 09, 2018 18:56 UTC