Eminent Indian banker and former ICICI Bank Chairman, Narayanan Vaghul, passed away on Saturday, media reports said. The banker passed away in Chennai and his family issued a statement and said, “Sincerely regret to inform you that Padma Bhushan Narayanan Vaghul sir, passed away this afternoon at Apollo Hospitals Chennai.”
Vaghul was 88 and is survived by his wife, daughter, and son, reported Mint. The banker was conferred the Padma Bhushan award in 2009. He also helped build ICICI Bank during Rajiv Gandhi's administration. The executive began his career with the State Bank of India and assumed the role of Bank of India at the age of 44. At the age of 39, Vaghul assumed the role of executive director at the Central Bank of India.
Vaghul also played a major role in convincing K V Kamath, another legend, to return to India from the Asian Development Bank in the mid-1990s. Kamath launched customer lending initiatives, diversifying the ICICI Bank's focus partially.
The banker was also crucial in establishing ICICI Securities as an investment banking firm. He also served as a director in several prominent Indian conglomerates such as Wipro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Apollo Hospitals, and Mittal Steel. He also held the chairman role at the ICICI Knowledge Park.
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi got him into ICICI after getting impressed by Vaghul’s skills. Earlier in 2023, Vaghul released his memoir, titled ‘Reflections’ detailing his experiences in the Indian financial sector spanning the last few decades.