HDFC Bank’s board has approved two candidates for the roles of managing director and chief executive officer and submitted the shortlist to the Reserve Bank of India for approval. The move follows current MD and CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan’s announcement last month that he would not seek reappointment after his second term concludes on October 26.
Jagdishan, 61, took over the role in October 2020, succeeding founder CEO Aditya Puri, and was reappointed for a further term in 2023. As one of India’s largest private lenders and a systemically important bank, HDFC Bank requires RBI’s sign-off before a new CEO can formally take charge.
CEO Shortlist Sent to RBI
Kaizad Bharucha, the bank’s deputy managing director since 2023, has emerged as a strong internal candidate to succeed Jagdishan. Other names reportedly in contention include Anup Bagchi, MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance; Tata Capital’s Rajiv Sabharwal; and CSB Bank’s Pralay Mondal.
HDFC Bank formally forwarded two shortlisted names to the RBI for consideration, though the identities of the finalists have not been made public. The RBI will assess the candidates and approve one before Jagdishan’s term ends.
Separately, the board also approved the appointment of Jimmy Tata as an executive director for a three-year term, effective from the date of RBI approval. This appointment adds another layer to the leadership changes currently underway at the bank.
Leadership Change Amid Scrutiny
The CEO search comes as HDFC Bank faces an internal review involving senior executives, following a probe into the bank’s deposit-related arrangement with MSRDC dating back to 2017 and 2021. The bank issued warning letters and imposed a Rs. 1 lakh monetary penalty each on three senior executives, including Jagdishan, chief financial officer Srinivasa Vaidyanathan, and group head of retail assets Arvind Vohra.
A special disciplinary committee of independent directors will review the case. As the bank moves toward finalizing its next CEO, this backdrop adds extra scrutiny to how smoothly the leadership transition plays out over the coming months.