HDFC Bank deputy MD seeks to step down on Dec 31

HDFC Bank Deputy Managing Director Kaizad Bharucha has sought to step down from the bank, effective December 31, 2026, the lender said in an exchange filing on Saturday. This comes weeks after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved Anup Bagchi to succeed Sashidhar Jagdishan as managing director and chief executive.

"Kaizad Bharucha, Deputy Managing Director, HDFC Bank has requested cessation from the service of the Bank with effect from the close of business hours on December 31, 2026," said the bank in its exchange filing.

Bharucha, one of HDFC Bank’s longest-serving executives, was one of the two candidates whose names the bank had submitted to the RBI for the top job. However, his candidature faced a tenure constraint under the central bank’s rules, which cap an individual’s continuous tenure as a managing director, chief executive or whole-time director at 15 years.

Bharucha has been a whole-time director at HDFC Bank since June 2014 and would have hit the 15-year ceiling in June 2029. This meant that, had he been appointed CEO after Jagdishan’s term ended on October 26, he would not have been able to complete even a full three-year term without a regulatory relaxation.

People familiar with the succession process had earlier told The Economic Times that the regulator preferred a candidate with a longer runway at the bank, strengthening the case for an external appointment. Bagchi, a three-decade ICICI Group veteran and former chief executive of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, was subsequently selected for the role and is set to take charge on October 27.

Bharucha has now requested cessation from the services of HDFC Bank from the close of business on December 31. The bank’s Group Nomination and Remuneration Committee and board, at meetings held on October 16 and October 17, respectively, accepted his request and will forward it to the RBI for approval.

His departure will mark another major leadership change at HDFC Bank as the country’s largest private-sector lender transitions to a new chief executive.

HDFC’s gross non-performing asset ratio was 1.11% as of September, compared with 1.17% at the end of the previous three months.

The Mumbai-based lender reported a net profit of Rs 19,510 crore for the second quarter of FY27, marking a 4.6% year-on-year jump from Rs 18,641 crore posted in the same period last year.

HDFC Bank’s net interest income (interest earned less interest expended) for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, grew 9.7% to Rs 34,620 crore from Rs 31,550 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Net interest margin stood at 3.16% on total assets and 3.32% on interest-earning assets.

The lender’s asset quality remained stable in the September quarter as gross non-performing assets (GNPA) at Rs 35,810 crore, marginally lower than Rs 35,846 crore in June. Net non-performing assets (NNPA) declined to Rs 11,851 crore from Rs 12,357 crore in the previous quarter, the bank said.

The gross NPA ratio eased to 1.11% from 1.17% in the June quarter, while the net NPA ratio fell to 0.37% from 0.41%.