Shareholders of ICICI Securities has voted in favour of reappointing Chanda Kochhar as a director on the board of the company.
ICICI Securities in an exchange filing on Thursday night said 97.68% of the votes cast at its annual general meeting (AGM) were in favour the resolution to reappoint Chanda Kochhar and 2.3% were against the resolution.
The AGM of ICICI Securities was held on Thursday, and the meeting was chaired by Vinod Kumar Dhall, an independent director, in the absence of chairperson Chanda Kochhar. Chanda Kochhar’s reappointment was one of the resolutions in the AGM.
Earlier this month, Kochhar had offered herself to be reappointed on the board of ICICI Securities.
Proxy advisory firm IIAS had advised investors to vote against Kochhar’s reappointment. “We believe she should be reappointed on the board only after all the charges against her have been cleared,” the firm wrote in a note.
The firm pointed out that ICICI Bank, had, in a recent SEC filing, highlighted the possibility of increased regulatory scrutiny and reputational risks from independent enquiries into loans given by ICICI Bank, under Chanda Kochhar’s watch.
These investigations, IIAS observed, could materially and adversely impact operations and financial performance. “ In such a scenario, her presence on the board of ICICI Securities, while legally compliant, exposes the company to the same risks and the possibility of legal and regulatory sanctions,” it said.
The stock price of ICICI Securities, which listed on the exchanges on April 4, rose by 1.935 and ended the session at Rs 333.50 on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Friday.
It has lost 35% since the listing. There are eight members on the board of ICICI Securities, with Chanda Kochhar being the chairperson. There are four independent directors, while other board members include, Shilpa Kumar MD and CEO, Ajay Saraf, ED and Vishakha Mulye, ICICI Bank Nominee on the board.