Top level reshuffle at ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank announced a major reshuffle at its top tier. Its executive director Kalpana Morparia has been elevated to the post of deputy managing director of the bank.

Simultaneously, S Mukherji, also an executive director, will now head ICICI Bank's investment banking arm ICICI Securities as managing director and chief executive officer.

"With stock markets booming and government's divestment programme is gaining momentum, I-Sec will play a major role. Mukherji will lead the show there," said an ICICI Bank executive.

The bank has also given an extension to joint managing director Lalita D Gupte for over two years. Her term will now end in October 2006. Gupte's current tenure would have come to an end on June 23.

ICICI Bank has also appointed two new director "" Life Insurance Corporation's chairman S B Mathur and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd (Canada) chairman and CEO Prem Vatsa. Lombard Canada, with whom ICICI Bank has a general insurance subsidiary "" ICICI Lombard General Insurance, is a subsidiary of Fairfax.

One of the positions had fallen vacant after R Seshasayee managing director of Ashok Leyland had stepped down sometime back.

With Mukherji moving to I-Sec, Ramni Nirula will return to ICICI Bank and head the government banking group, rural and agri-banking group.

Nirula was heading ICICI Sec after Devdatt Shah left the company in July 2002.

Morparia's tenure will come to an end in May 2006. She will take over the special asset management group which was earlier under Mukherjee while infrastructure and project finance portfolio will now be under executive director Nachiket Mor who heads the wholesale banking division.

Instead of four, the bank will now have two executive directors"" Mor and Chanda D Kochhar. Mor is in charge of the corporate banking while Kochhar is in charge of retail banking.