ICICI Bank does not condone the action of recovery agents: CEO

Bangalore, Nov 1 (UNI) Leading private sector ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO K V Kamath today refused to condone the act of recovery agents which allegedly led to death of a borrower in Hyderabad recently.

"The Bank does not condone any action by the recovery agents that are 'not appropriate' and was fully aware of it", he added.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 15th CII Summit, where he delivered the keynote address, Mr Kamath said ICICI Bank would certainly work in concent with the policy on recovery agents.

"We will do as exactly as regulator (RBI) has suggested", he added.

RBI had taken a serious note of recent death of a borrower of ICICI Bank, Hyderabad, where the borrower's wife had alleged that the 'strong arm' tactics of the Bank's recovery agents was the cause of her husband's death. Following the incident the RBI had directed that the Banks should have their own recovery agents. It also said that it would not allow Banks to engage agents anymore if they harass people.

"We are responsible players and have good practices. However, if any such actions happened, we do not condone it. Each individual Bank will have to look at the appointment of its own agents. But it is also a question of how you bring up people, train them and bring a culture and ethos into them. These are things my colleagues are working at," he added.

Asked whether ICICI Bank's image had taken a beating due to such reports, Mr Kamath said there had been a conscious effort and the Bank was focusing on internalising the ethos and mind set of the people. "I am sure we will share this with all the constituents," he added.

UNI