Chanda Kochhar’s remuneration rises most among private bankers
ICICI Bank’s Chanda Kochhar got a 63% raise in remuneration in fiscal 2016-17, topping the list of India’s big private sector bankers, according to lenders’ annual reports.
Kochhar’s total remuneration rose to ₹7.8 crore at the end of March 2017 and included a performance bonus of ₹2.2 crore and a 47% jump in allowances. During the previous fiscal, her annual remuneration fell to ₹4.8 crore after she decided to forego her performance bonus following a 13% fall in the bank’s net profits in 2015-16.
It was the same year the Reserve Bank of India completed an asset quality review exercise, forcing banks to make higher provisions for bad loans. In 2016-17, ICICI Bank posted a 0.8% increase in net profits.
Remuneration typically includes gross salary, allowances and perquisites, provident fund, superannuation allowances, gratuity and performance bonus. For ICICI Bank, remuneration also includes deferred performance bonus, which is paid over a multi-year period.
Yes Bank’s Rana Kapoor got the highest raise after Kocchar. His annual remuneration increased 21% to ₹6.9 crore in fiscal 2016-17. Barring Kochhar and Kapoor, chiefs of other private sector banks saw single-digit growth in their total compensation package.
HDFC Bank’s Aditya Puri saw a modest 3.3% hike in annual remuneration to ₹10 crore as the bank’s net profit growth slowed to 18% in fiscal 2016-17. Axis Bank reported a 5% rise in Shikha Sharma’s remuneration following the bank’s dismal performance at the end of March 2017. The bank reported a 55% fall in net profit for the fiscal.
“Every year when a bank does well, most of compensation hike for the top management is in the form of ESOPs (employee stock options). For other employees in private sector banks, the average pay hike is not more than 6-8%,” said Anshul Lodha, director (financial services and legal) of Michael Page.