Sandeep Bakhshi

Sandeep Bakhshi became CEO of ICICI Bank in October 2018, stepping in during one of the most turbulent periods in the bank's history. His predecessor, Chanda Kochhar — the first woman to lead a major Indian bank — was forced to resign amid allegations of conflicts of interest related to loans extended to the Videocon Group while her husband's firm had business dealings with the company. She was later convicted in a related case. Bakhshi, who had been running ICICI's insurance subsidiary, was elevated as a safe pair of hands to restore stability and credibility. What Bakhshi has achieved since then is arguably the most impressive turnaround in Indian banking. When he took over, ICICI Bank was struggling with one of the highest non-performing asset (NPA) ratios among major Indian banks, a legacy of aggressive corporate lending under previous management. Bakhshi systematically cleaned up the balance sheet, shifted the loan portfolio mix heavily toward retail (mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, personal loans) and away from risky corporate exposure, and built a technology-driven underwriting system that dramatically improved credit quality. ICICI Bank today is India's second-largest private-sector bank (after HDFC Bank) with assets exceeding ₹24 trillion (approximately $290 billion), over 6,500 branches, and a market capitalization approaching ₹9 trillion. Its iMobile Pay app and digital banking platform serve over 50 million customers, and the bank has become a leader in digital account opening, instant loan disbursement, and UPI payments. Bakhshi's management style is notable for being the antithesis of the high-profile, media-friendly CEO. He rarely gives public speeches, avoids grand strategic pronouncements, and lets ICICI's quarterly results speak for themselves. The results have been extraordinary: return on equity consistently above 16%, net interest margins among the best in the industry, and loan growth outpacing the sector. The key question is sustainability — whether ICICI can maintain its credit quality discipline through the next economic cycle and continue gaining market share against both public-sector banks and the newly merged HDFC Bank.