Shares of private lender HDFC Bank fell as much as 2.5% intraday to ₹759 at the BSE on Wednesday, after a media report blamed the lender of ‘camouflaging’ payment of crores, as a marketing spend, towards a government transport firm, between FY2024 and FY2025.

The Indian Express newspaper on Wednesday reported, that on March 12 – just six days prior to the bank’s former part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty’s  resignation -- the audit committee of the Board (ACB), under the chairmanship of M.D Ranganath, had ordered a formal “internal vigilance investigation” into payments totalling ₹45 crore made to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), during FY2024 and FY2025.  

According to the Indian Express newspaper, these payments based on internal records, has revealed, were meant for MSRDC as “differential interest” -- interest over and above the specified rate, on its deposits. “But instead of being credited directly to MSRDC’s account as interest earned, they were routed through the bank’s marketing department, disguised as contributions to a road safety awareness campaign through four local vendors,” the newspaper reported.

At the time of writing, HDFC Bank did not comment on the media report, but said it will issue a statement.

HDFC Bank has not been able to fully climb out of the clouds of governance and ethical concerns weighing in on the bank, after Chakraborty quit from his post on March 18 this year.

Chakraborty, in his resignation letter to the HDFC Bank board, had cited certain “happenings and practices” at the bank over the past two years, were not in congruence with his “personal values and ethics”.

Since then, two legal firms Wadia Ghandy & Co and Trilegal are set to present their reports on the investigation to the Bank.

India’s two regulators, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India have come out in support of  HDFC Bank , stating that there were no material concerns to note.

When HDFC Bank reported its Q4FY26 earnings on April 18, the bank called it an “unprecedented event”. The Bank had reported a strong set of financial numbers led by 14.4% deposit growth in FY26, where it outpaced advances, which grew 10.2% for the year. Net profit came in at ₹19,221 crore for the quarter ended March 31 and ₹74,671 crore for FY26, showing a year-on-year growth of 9% for the quarter and 10.9% for the full fiscal.