Top 77 Chanda Kochhar Quotes

A leader has to find opportunities in any environment.

I have always been saying that while – the legislative reforms are good, but there are so many low-hanging fruits that we have look for by taking executive decisions. I think the government is actually moving in the right direction.

Any of our businesses will not exist in the form that is today, will not exist in the same form one year later, two years later… We have to worry about the disruptions in the business models and the practices.

I think competition is good. It finally delivers the best value to the customer, and I think it keeps all the players on their toes.

I think we have to pick up some sectors where we can make India the global hub in the entire value chain, and the most important sector to pick up should be electronics.

Every entrepreneur, whether man or woman, should start with a robust business structure.

The MBA entrance exams are so quantitative-oriented that it keeps out more and more women from joining the MBA classes. If we were to make the entrance exams more all-rounded, you could see more participation.

Don’t cut corners or compromise to achieve your dreams.

Two eyes are given for a reason. One eye to always look at the opportunity. The second eye to always keep looking at the challenges. Because if you don’t balance both, it’s very easy to get carried away one way or the other. And it’s when you balance the two that you find the most sustainable model.

Let me talk about what the banks are doing, and I think the banks have been working to make sure that, as much as possible, we move the currency to the smaller areas and to as many set of customers as possible.

The biggest challenge for me, for all of us, was that the consumer-credit market was very, very new for India and for ICICI. I was trying to create something that was not just new for me but absolutely unknown to the organization and the country as a whole.

As far as investors and customers are concerned, I make it a point to answer each and every piece of mail that comes to me.

It’s about maintaining balance. Plan better, be organised. I chose to be a working wife and mother. Why should I compromise on either?

I take all the stress on myself so everyone else can work without stress.

ICICI Bank was the first bank to recalibrate its ATMs for 2000 and then also for 500 rupee notes, and now we have some ATMs which give out 2000, 500, 100 – all of them.

Successful strategic vision lay in the fact that we visualized the retail business to be much bigger, ahead of what others thought it to be.

In a larger sense, we all write our own destiny.

Payments banks can also act as business correspondents of other banks.

Rising incomes and positive demographics will provide opportunities for retail financial services in India.

Aim for the sky, but move slowly, enjoying every step along the way. It is all those little steps that make the journey complete.

If you take existing ideas and make them affordable and scalable, you substantially change business models.

Power projects are differently placed to road projects. There’s difference stress across different companies across different groups based on their leverage levels.

As far as discom reforms are concerned, they have to be a combination of two parts. One is the existing balance sheet and, therefore, taking care of that. The second important is the reduction in losses going forward.

Remember to be sensitive to the feelings of people around you.

There were so many occasions when I wasn’t around for my kids or my husband. But we learnt to work around it.

What is important for a leader is that you walk in a stable manner in your own shoes and do not trip.

As far as investors and customers are concerned, I make it a point to answer each and every piece of mail that comes to me.

Remember that relationships are important and have to be nurtured and cherished. Also keep in mind that a relationship is a two way street, so be ready to give a relationship just as you would expect the other person to be giving to you.

We have to understand that India is a complex country. Everything takes time for the real impact to get translated to the economy.

We actually probably do nothing very special for women. But what we do in a very special manner is to remain an absolute gender-neutral, merit-based organization.

In India, we have the opportunity to give innovation the kind of scale that no other country in the world can.

What we see is that we actually have digital channels through which the customers interact, but we also take the absolute brick channels, which is the branch, and convert that experience into a more digitised experience.

I use my interaction with both my kids to know how the youth today relates to technology, their expectations in terms of mobility and social solutions by customer services-oriented businesses like banking.

Every quarter, we need to see the portfolio and follow the accounting practice of mark-to-market that values investments according to the prevailing market prices and at the price at which they are made.

India did not innovate with the ATMs. But when we brought ATMs into India and made the machines talk in 15 regional languages to the people in rural India, we got millions of transactions on the ATM.

Our large size, capital base, robust funding profile, extensive distribution network, diversified portfolio, presence across the financial services sector, and leadership in technology position us very well to leverage the growth opportunities across the economy.

The important source of finance is now commercial papers, bonds, and so on.

The consolidation that we started in 2009 was clearly the requirement of that time.

I believe in fate, but I also believe that hard work and diligence plays a very important role in our lives.

Clearly, for an organization to move on, it is the job of the leader to be that sponge that takes the stress from inside and the outside.

I had to create a team of people who had worked in this industry for other banks. What I brought to that team was ICICI’s strategic thinking, but when it came to domain knowledge or product nuances, I had to learn from the team.

In India, we have the opportunity to give innovation the kind of scale that no other country in the world can. Innovation is a necessity.

I had to work just as hard as my male colleagues.

We don’t understand the equity market well, and so we deploy funds in fixed-income securities, and like any other securities, investment in those securities also need to follow the mark-to-market accounting principle.

India’s growth drivers are actually two growth drivers. One is consumption, which arises out of our demographic advantage. And the other is the investments. Because we need a lot of investment in the country.

Business has to be done with both head and heart.

One thing I would say about the Indian consumer is that as much change and as much technology, innovation that you offer to the Indian consumer, the Indian consumer is very receptive and actually keep expecting more, and we have had that great experience.

I chose to be a working wife and mother. Why should I compromise on either?

I believe that India’s long-term growth story is strong, and foreign investors are keen to be a part of it.

Over the years, we have financed projects in core industrial sectors like steel, cement, aluminium and petrochemicals, and in manufacturing sectors like automobiles and textiles.

There are lots of India-related business which is nourished overseas. I mean India-related business that is done off-shore. There are lot of funds that are invested in India and run by Indians but are being operated from outside, mainly because of the taxation laws.

What I was told by my parents was that, you know, take this inhibition out whether you’re a girl or a boy. Basically, pursue your dream, and as long as you’re a capable and hardworking human being, you will be able to follow and fulfill your dream.

ICICI Group has always been a catalyst in India’s growth and continues to support the country in every sphere.

We have to always set an aspiration for ourselves and then strive to get there.

What my parents believed was that, you know, the best wealth they could give to us children was to educate us and, you know – give us that foundation.

A demography that is digitising rapidly, and the potential to invest in infrastructure, are the key strengths of India.

If there is a course that is quant-oriented, you need to focus on that, but if it is a course that is more general management-oriented, do you not need entrance examinations which are more all round?

Mark-to-market losses are not real loss. It’s a notional loss.

Adaptability is a great asset to have because life is so unpredictable, and things can change overnight for any of us.

The scope of activities for payments banks mainly includes acceptance of demand deposits, issuance of ATM/debit cards, payment and remittance services, and distribution of third-party products.

We will leverage technology to collaborate with the government in its e-governance initiatives.