Keki Mistry
| Photo Credit:
The search for a new part-time Chairman for HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, just got longer.The bank’s board, at its meeting held on Thursday, granted approval for the extension of Keki Mistry’s tenure as an interim Part-time (PT) Chairman for three months until September 18, 2026, or till appointment of a regular Part-time Chairman, whichever is earlier.The aforementioned development comes even as the board approved convening of the 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the bank on August 5, 2026. According to banking experts, the bank may still be weighing its options for a suitable replacement for Chakraborty.The board is believed to be considering the names of RBI former Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao and former Secretary of the Department of Financial Services M Nagaraju as PT Chairman.Mistry was brought in as Atanu Chakraborty tendered his resignation as the PT Chairman and Independent Director of HDFC Bank on March 17, 2026. Chakraborty cited “certain happenings and practices within the bank, that I have observed over last two years, are not in congruence with my personal Values and Ethics” as the basis for his decision to step down.In his resignation letter dated March 17, 2026, addressed to Harsh Kumar Bhanwala (Chairman, Governance, Nomination, Remuneration Committee), Chakraborty said: “I joined the board of HDFC Bank in May 2021. My tenure on the board saw momentous events like merger of the bank with HDFC Ltd that created a conglomerate under the bank. This strategic initiative made HDFC Bank the second largest Bank in the country. Though, the benefits of merger are yet to fully fructify.“Certain happenings and practices within the bank, that I have observed over last two years, are not in congruence with my personal Values and Ethics. This is the basis of my aforementioned decision.”Following Chakraborty’s allegation, the bank appointed external law firms (domestic and international) to conduct a review regarding his resignation letter. The law firms were asked to provide their report on the same within a reasonable period of time.Allegation: Disguising of extra interest paymentsResponding to alleged disguising of extra interest payments as marketing expenditure on deposits placed by a Maharashtra Government-owned entity, HDFC Bank last month emphasised that this matter does not have a material impact on the financial statements and the internal controls at the Bank are robust.Referring to BSE’s May 27, 2026 email seeking clarification from the bank on the media report, “HDFC Bank shares slide 2.5 per cent amid reports of internal probe into ₹45 crore payment to state transport firm”, HDFC Bank said: “We wish to state that in line with the highest corporate governance standards of the bank, the Internal Audit function conduct reviews, identifies and presents its observations from time to time.“As such, the observations of Internal Audit function are comprehensively addressed by the Bank and that applies to the matter in question.”Published on June 18, 2026
