THE CLOSE TO ₹3 CRORE basic salary of Shikha Sharma, the Axis Bank CEO who quit last year, kept growing steadily even when the fortunes of the bank were sinking. In spite of a sharp deterioration in asset quality, profitability and valuation, thanks mostly to her bets in the infrastructure space, the bank’s board did not see merit in tinkering with her compensation structure. It was only in April last year, when 60-year-old Sharma’s fourth term was due for renewal, that the Reserve Bank of India, or RBI, put its foot down. Sharma, who had come from an insurance background, having built ICICI’s life insurance subsidiary, decided to call it a day.
Sharma’s colleague at ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar, who was earning almost the same as Sharma, also didn’t match…
