HDFC Bank board recommends two candidates to RBI for MD and CEO post

The board of private sector lender HDFC Bank has sped up the process for a new leader to head the Bank. On Saturday the board of the HDFC Bank – and on recommendations of the Governance, Nomination and Remuneration Committee (CNRC) – has submitted the names of two candidates, in order of preference, to the Reserve Bank of India for approval.

The board has also provided details of “the remuneration proposed to be paid to them, for a period of three years, “an exchange filing said.

This comes after the current MD and CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan announced on August 29, that he will not seek reappointment for a third successive term, after his second term ends on October 26, 2026.

Within the bank, the name of HDFC Bank veteran Kaizad Bharucha, deputy managing director, who has been the longest serving executive board member at the lender, had been doing the rounds, as successor.

But there is a possibility that RBI may want an ‘outsider’, possibly a veteran of other private sector banks or a financial institution, to take charge and start the journey as a new CEO, on a clean slate.

On Saturday, September 12, the board has also approved and sent to the RBI, the re-appointment of V. Srinivasa Rangan as a Whole-time Director (designated as Executive Director) of the Bank along with remuneration payable to him with effect from November 23, 2026 till November 22, 2027.

The other details include: Appointment of Jimmy Tata as a Whole-time Director (designated as Executive Director) of the Bank along with remuneration payable to him, for a period of three years with effect from the date of approval of RBI or such other date/ period specified by RBI.

The board has also approved creation of one additional position of Whole-time Director, thereby increasing the strength of Whole-time Directors on the Board of the Bank to four, in addition to the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, in order to have sharper synergy and oversight, including on the subsidiaries of the Bank as well as to have larger pipeline for succession planning.

The said position will be filled in consultation with the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, after he/she takes charge of the position.

Recently, HDFC Bank appointed former finance secretary and former chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar as its part-time chairman. The RBI had earlier indicated that the bank should first finalise the appointment of its new chairman, following which the CEO selection process would be undertaken.

On August 5, at the HDFC Bank’s board meeting, the bank board faced a barrage of questions which related to expansion plans to boost income, corporate governance, succession plans for a new CEO, the financial drag on the Bank after HDFC's merger with the Bank in July 2023 and how to improve margins and CASA.

The problems for Jagdishan had increased after the HDFC Bank Board in July had slapped a fine of ₹1 lakh on Jagdishan, the chief financial officer Srinivasan Vaidyanathan and group head of retail assets Arvind Vohra, for ‘business overreach’.

The action was based on the findings and recommendations of the special disciplinary committee of independent directors, following the completion of an internal review into the arrangements with the Maharashtra state road development corporation (MSRDC) for garnering deposits in 2017 and 2021.

The bank has navigated much of the year only battling corporate governance challenges and trying to convince all stakeholders that the internal controls at the bank are in place. The HDFC Bank stock has fallen 28.5% in calendar year 2026, amid the governance concerns.