N.S. Kannan, Executive Director, ICICI Bank Limited
As executive director of ICICI Bank, N.S. Kannan’s responsibilities include finance, treasury, commercial banking, corporate legal, risk management, secretarial, corporate communications, corporate branding and strategic solutions. He also has the responsibility for day-to-day administration of the compliance and internal audit functions.
Kannan has been with the ICICI Group for more than 24 years. He joined the group as a project officer and during his tenure with the company, he also handled functions such as project finance, infrastructure finance, structured finance and treasury. Kannan was executive director and chief financial officer (CFO) of ICICI Bank during the period 2009 to 2013. Prior to this, he was executive director of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company and before that, he was CFO and treasurer of ICICI Bank.
Kannan is a postgraduate in management from the premier Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and won a gold medal for best all-round performance. He is also a chartered financial analyst from the Institute of Char-tered Financial Analysts of India and a graduate in mechanical engineering from the National Institute of Technology (formerly known as Regional Engineering College), Tiruchirapalli.
Discussing the bank’s lending strategy during a recent interview, Kannan said, “If you look at the deterioration in asset quality, the stress has been seen in the engineering, procurement and construction space where there are huge receivables. Besides, there are delays, which, in turn, have put pressure on construction companies. Construction is one sector where one has to be a bit careful in terms of lending.”
The bank plans to look at the overall concentration of risk in its restructured loans portfolio, where there is some lumpiness in terms of one or two assets. “If they slip, they create a bit of volatility in the provision. We would aim to minimise a similar situation going forward,” Kannan stated during a conference call with investors.
In 2015, Kannan was inducted as a member of the CFO Hall of Fame for an exemplary career in and contribution to the world of finance. In 2013, he was voted the Best CFO in India in a poll conducted by Finance Asia. In two consecutive years, 2012 and 2013, he was awarded the Best CFO in the Indian Banking/Financial Services Sector at the CNBC TV 18 CFO Awards.
