Corporate Governance Program for

Bank Directors of Indian Banks

December 14 – 16, 2005 - Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai

 

The Institute of International Finance (IIF), Washington, a leading global association of financial institutions, jointly with IBA and Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore organized a conference on ‘Corporate Governance for Directors of Indian Banks’ at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace & Towers, Mumbai from 14th to 16th December, 2005. 

 

Focused on the particular interests of bank directors, the programme had provided in-depth exposure to some key requirements of the Indian regulatory bodies and recommendations of Basel-II.  The programme sessions covered topics such as  “audit and control”, “risk management”, “directors’ liability”, “board/management relations”, “corporate governance for regulators” and “importance of governance issues”. Panel discussions were held on various topics -  “market attitudes and expectations”, “legal framework for directors responsibilities”.  Eminent Speakers from national/international for a spoke on the above topics and made their presentations.  Case studies on ‘related party issues and conflicts of interest’ was presented by Dr. N. Balasubramanian, Chairman, Centre for Corporate Governance and Citizenship, IIM-B.  The sessions were very interactive and participants, largely directors on bank boards, had very open and instructive discussions throughout the Programme.

 

At the Inauguration function on 14th December, 2005, Dr. Balasubramanian, Programme Director, welcomed the Chief Guest, and Mr. Peter McCarthy, Deputy Managing Director, IIF made the introductory remarks. The Conference was inaugurated by Mr. K V Kamath, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank Ltd., delivering the key note address, emphasized the importance of good corporate governance in banks, and also highlighted the staggering growth requirements in banking services over the next few years, providing both a challenge and an opportunity to the industry.

 

On 16th December, Dr. Y V Reddy, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, addressed the participants. He was welcomed by Mr. H N Sinor, Chief Executive, Indian Banks’ Association, and Mr P McCarthy, Deputy Managing Director of the Institute of International Finance, Washington. In his speech, the Governor referred to the several steps that the banking supervisor has already initiated and had on the anvil; he also drew attention to the legislative reforms that the Government were planning to bring about in the months ahead, and expressed his satisfaction at the rate of change towards betterment of corporate governance practices that such initiatives were aimed to bring about. He emphasized the role of bank boards and the need to have them populated by “fit and proper” persons who can add value. A vote of thanks was proposed by Dr. Balasubramanian. 

 

 The Conference was well attended by some 60 delegates from various Indian banks, both from the public and the private sectors.      

  

Speakers’ Reactions

A very timely program on the most important issues of the day.

Ms. Ying Hsu

Associate, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton (London)

 

Very stimulating and it has been a learning experience.

Mr. L V V Iyer

                                                            Corporate Lawyer, L V V Iyer & Associates

 

Thank you for inviting me to this highly informative conference.

Mr. John Heinze

Examining Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

 

Deeply appreciate the opportunity to be here and present, also

the very warm and generous welcome, thank you.

 

Dr. Mark Lawrence

                                                Former Chief Risk Officer, ANZ

Wonderfully active audience, great support from your staff.

 

Mr. John R Price

Senior Advisor , The Institute of International Finance

 

A pleasure to be here. An excellent and topical subject

and a receptive audience. The conference is very well run.

Mr. Rahoul Chowdhury

Partner, PriceWaterhouseCoopers

 

A wonderful experience on my first visit to Mumbai.

 

Mr. Peter McCarthy

Deputy Managing Director, Institute of International Finance

 

Feedback from Participants

 

Mark Lawrence presentation was useful and good.

Dr. Sanjiv Agarwal

Director/Chairman of ACB

State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur

 

Very good. We need to rope in more bankers to speak their experience.

Shri M Deena Dayalan

Joint Secretary (FA), GOI

 

Risk management for banks by Mark Lawrence was good, Keep it up

Shri K R Das

Vice President

Reserve Bank Staff College, Chennai

 

 

 

Speakers should have been mainly picked up from India

so that the relevance could have been more practical.

Shri Shabbeer Pasha

Chartered Accountant, Canara Bank

 

Governance in Co-op. Banks - Issues and Resolutions

Shri S V Dange

Sp. Assistant, Union Bank of India

 

It helped to enhance the knowledge on various subjects.

This in turn would help to discharge duties.

Shri S P Krishnaswamy

Dirctor, Vijaya Bank

 

Participation of the RBI Governor applied importance to this programme.

Shri B Ramachandra Adityan

Director, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank

 

Mark Lawrence was excellent and Mr. Price was very practical.

 

Shri M N Gopinath

Director, Bank of India

 

Location can be in Central Mumbai. There are now Five Stars Hotels in

that part of city also. Its good to have speakers with practical experience than getting speakers who only preach. Hence the programme  is designed excellent and done well.

Shri Vineet Gupta

GM & Head – Financial Sector, ICRA Limited

 

Each area is to be deliberated intensively for at least half a

day instead of flashing way, even if we cover a few areas.

Shri S R Hegde

Advocate, Karnataka Bank

 

The participation at the Conference was quite useful and I personally benefited with interaction I had with you and others.  I hope the moments spent together shall nurture our bondage further and I would like to cherish this relationship throughout.

Dr. Sanjiv Agarwal

Agarwal Sanjiv & Co.

 

 

Power Point presentations on 15.12.05 :

 

·                    Dr. N Balasubramanian – Corporate Governance, Bank Boards & Directors

·                    Ms. Ying Hsu – Corporate Governance Issues for Bank Directors-A US perspective

·                    Mr. Anjan D Ghosh – Investors Expectations & Benefits

·                    Mr. L V V Iyer – Directors Role, Responsibilities & Liabilities

·                    John Heinze – Basel II and Beyond

·                    Hugh Sandeman – Investors perspective

·                    Dr. N Balasubramanian – Case study on Related Party Issues, Conflicts & Resolutions

·                    Mr. Manish Singhai – Corporate Governance as a Component of Equity Risk

 

 

 

Power Point presentations on 16.12.05 :

 

·                     Mr. Leo Puri – State Sector & Importance of Governance issues

·                     Mr. John R Price – What Directors should watch for

·                     Prof. P G Apte – Risk Management

·                     Dr. Mark Lawrence – Risk Management for Directors

·                     Mr. Rahoul Chowdry - Audit & Internal Controls

 Inauguration function on 14th December, 2005.                                     
Mr. K V Kamath, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank Ltd.
 lighting the lamp alongwith Mr. Peter McCarthy,
Deputy Managing Director, IIF(extreme left) and
Dr. Balasubramanian, Programme Director.

 Mr. K V Kamath, delivering the key note address    
Presentation by Prof. Prakash G Apte, Director, IIM,
‘Risk Management’     		Dr. Mark Lawrence, Former Chief Risk Officer, ANZ     on ‘Risk Management for Directors
Mr. Rahoul Chowdry, Partner, Price Waterhouse Coopers
on Audits and Internal Controls   

Address by the Hon’ble Dr. Y V Reddy, Governor,

Reserve Bank  of  India