HDFC Bank deputy MD Kaizad Bharucha seeks December 31 exit

HDFC Bank deputy managing director Kaizad Bharucha has sought to leave the lender at the close of business on December 31, 2026, according to an exchange filing reported by The Economic Times on October 17. The bank’s board has accepted his request, which will be sent to the Reserve Bank of India for approval.

The Group Nomination and Remuneration Committee considered and accepted the request on October 16, followed by the board on October 17. The proposed departure comes as India’s largest private-sector lender prepares for a change at the top, with Anup Bagchi due to succeed Sashidhar Jagdishan as managing director and chief executive on October 27.

A tenure limit shaped the succession contest

Bharucha, among the bank’s longest-serving executives, was one of two candidates whose names HDFC Bank submitted to the RBI for the chief executive position. His potential tenure, however, was constrained by the regulator’s 15-year ceiling on continuous service as a managing director, chief executive or whole-time director.

Having served as a whole-time director since June 2014, Bharucha would reach that limit in June 2029. An appointment after Jagdishan’s term ends on October 26 would therefore have left him unable to complete a full three-year term without regulatory relaxation.

The report cited people familiar with the succession process as previously saying that the RBI favoured a candidate who could serve for longer, helping the case for an external appointment. That account of the regulator’s preference was attributed to unnamed sources, rather than a public RBI explanation.

Bagchi, a three-decade ICICI Group veteran and former chief executive of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, subsequently secured the role. The RBI approved his appointment weeks before Bharucha’s exit request was disclosed.

Quarterly profit rises as bad-loan ratios ease

The leadership developments accompanied HDFC Bank’s results for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. Net profit rose 4.6% year on year to ₹19,510 crore, from ₹18,641 crore a year earlier. Net interest income—the difference between interest earned and interest paid—grew 9.7% to ₹34,620 crore from ₹31,550 crore.

Net interest margin was 3.16% on total assets and 3.32% on interest-earning assets. The gross non-performing asset ratio declined to 1.11% from 1.17% in June, while the net bad-loan ratio fell to 0.37% from 0.41%.

Gross non-performing assets stood at ₹35,810 crore, slightly below June’s ₹35,846 crore. Net non-performing assets also declined, to ₹11,851 crore from ₹12,357 crore in the preceding quarter.