Narayanan Vaghul, legendary banker and former ICICI Bank chairman, passes away at 88

Narayanan Vaghul, the legendary Indian banker and founder-chairman of ICICI Ltd has passed away

Narayanan Vaghul, the legendary Indian banker and founder-chairman of ICICI Ltd passed away in Chennai on May 18 due to age-related ailments. He was 88.

Mr Vaghul is survived by his wife Mrs Padma Vaghul, children Mohan & Sudha, and grandchildren Sanjay, Kavya, Anuv and Santosh.

Narayanan Vaghul was born in the pre-independence era in 1936 in rural south India. His family moved to Chennai (then Madras) where he studied at the famous Loyola College. Banking was not Mr Vaghul’s first choice as a career. He initially wanted to join the civil services but did not make the cut in his first attempt However, he cleared the examination to enter the newly formed State Bank of India (SBI), which he later remarked, he had attempted as a “practice test.” His father then nudged him to take up the SBI job and he joined the bank in 1955.

He later quit SBI due to intense political pressure. He was described as uncompromising and honest to the core.

At SBI he was introduced to ace banker R.K. Talwar who shaped his life and banking career. After SBI he joined the National Institute of Bank Management where he subsequently became its Director.

At the age of 39 he ascended to great heights when he was offered the position of Executive Director at Central Bank of India. Then he moved on to the Bank of India as its Chairman & Managing Director in 1981. At the age of 44, he was the youngest Chairman of any public sector bank.

Between 1981 and 1985 is when he headed the development bank ICICI Ltd. as its Chairman & CEO. It was under him that ICICI Ltd transformed from a development bank to India’s second largest private sector commercial bank.