Nobody likes high interest rates.
— Chanda Kochhar
Rising incomes and positive demographics will provide opportunities for retail financial services in India.
Innovation is a necessity.
An entrepreneur, whether man or woman, has to be willing to take help, whether financial or technical, to grow his or her business.
The issue of access to growth capital is common to all entrepreneurs. Any entrepreneur who can demonstrate a credible business model and plan would be able to access to capital.
The global market does not understand the India risk as well as we do, and therefore, we have the arbitrage facility of making better margin on the same set of Indian firms than what we would have made by giving rupee loans.
I had to work just as hard as my male colleagues.
We have to always set an aspiration for ourselves and then strive to get there.
As far as the banking industry is concerned - and I am sure it must be true for various industries as well - is that the only thing that is constant is change. Your business models are changing, the customer demands are changing and the regulations are changing constantly.
I think I have it all. But I won't say that the credit for all that goes to me. I think the credit for all that goes to everybody around me. I mean, I have it all because my entire family is so cooperative. I have it all because my children did not whine and cry when I was not there. So, I think it's, you know, in a way, a two-way street.
Moving from corporate banking to retail banking to international banking to supervisory roles has meant completely reinventing myself.
When I moved from consumer banking to international banking, I thought I brought a lot of insights from India we could implement globally.
I take all the stress on myself so everyone else can work without stress.
When people come and invest in India, they invest on a certain premise, and the fact that the very premise can change worries them a lot.
A leader has to find opportunities in any environment.
Make sure you have that conviction to do what you know is right, and once you have it, don't let skeptics distract you from your path.
Take destiny in your own hands.
I have always said that a bank's lending rates do not only depend on rate cuts - it is just one signal.
I believe Indian banks have a strong funding profile with largely deposit-funded balance sheets, a large physical presence to cater to the needs of customers, and ability to provide comprehensive solutions to customers.
In India, we have the opportunity to give innovation the kind of scale that no other country in the world can.
Business has to be done with both head and heart.
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.
Mark-to-market losses are not real loss. It's a notional loss.
I was good with numbers.
I think India's growth itself will give opportunities for Indian banks to become substantially bigger.
Business models that are relevant today are not relevant tomorrow and were not in existence yesterday.
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.
All my challenges have become opportunities.
The Indian banking industry has always been full of competition, and there is enough room for growth.
Getting small things like Visa or driving licence should be made easier as we, in financial service sectors, are dealing with financial regulations and tax constraints.
What is important for a leader is that you walk in a stable manner in your own shoes and do not trip.
I remember the reactions I got when we first visited factories to inspect the projects that we were funding. It was not easy for people to see a woman there. That was a time when most of these workplaces were not even equipped with a loo for women.
In a larger sense, we all write our own destiny.
Don't cut corners or compromise to achieve your dreams.
It is always impossible to expect things getting done in 90 days.
If you take existing ideas and make them affordable and scalable, you substantially change business models.
I think everybody wants GST.
Every entrepreneur, whether man or woman, should start with a robust business structure.
As far as employees are concerned, clearly I like to communicate with them, since we are more than 40,000 people. I like to communicate either through e-mail or through video conferencing, which we do very often, and stream out videos and interviews. But more than that, I believe in traveling to my branches.
It's about maintaining balance. Plan better, be organised. I chose to be a working wife and mother. Why should I compromise on either?
All three of us - two sisters and a brother - were brought up with an emphasis on academics.
It's very important to have the comfort of the regulator in every geography where you operate.
ICICI has been a meritocracy. So, a huge amount a lot of responsibilities, big roles, challenges, have been given to women, not because they are men or women or so on, but they were just given to people who have - who the organization believes has the capability to perform.
It's not easy to have it all. Frankly, you know, you have to give as much to the career that the career requires and, at the same time, you have to give as much to the family as the attention that's required.
When I moved from corporate to consumer banking, I brought a lot of synergy with me.
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?
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.
Aggression at a time when the economy was growing at substantial rates and the retail lending as an industry was growing at a substantial rate was an appropriate aggression. Caution at a time when the economic environment is so uncertain is an appropriate caution.
What women need are not benefits and advantages but a merit-based selection process that will allow them to automatically benefit from various opportunities.
I believe in fate, but I also believe that hard work and diligence plays a very important role in our lives.
