No communication from SEC on Chanda Kochhar, says ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank today said it has not received any "specific communication" from the US markets regulator SEC with regard to alleged lapses involving the lender's chief Chanda Kochhar and her family members.

The bank's response was sought by stock exchanges regarding a report that matter of alleged lapses involving Kochhar has come under the scanner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

"... there is no specific communication received from SEC upto this date," the bank said in a filing.

According to sources, the SEC has received complaints from institutional investors in the US to look into the matter related to corporate governance and disclosure issues.

Indian regulators and investigative agencies are mulling seeking help from their overseas counterparts, including in Mauritius, as part of their own probes, sources said.

Those looking into the matter include the RBI and the corporate Affairs Ministry, while the CBI had earlier registered a preliminary enquiry against Kochhar's husband, among others, nd extensively questioned her brother-in-law in April. The cases under scanner include the bank's Rs 32.50 billion loan to the Videocon Group in 2012 and the involvement of the Kochhar family members in the restructuring of the loan.

Last week, Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said the law would take its own course in the case.

ICICI Bank