HDFC Bank Deputy Managing Director Kaizad Bharucha
HDFC Bank’s board may have shortlisted the names of its Deputy Managing Director Kaizad Bharucha and K Balasubramanian, Citi’s Chief Country Officer for India, for getting Reserve Bank of India’s approval to appoint one of them as the Bank’s chief.The central bank usually requires private sector banks to propose two names, who will fit the bill in terms of its “fit and proper” criteria, for the top position.
K Balasubramanian, Citi’s Chief Country Officer for India
While HDFC Bank veteran Bharucha’s appointment will signal that its business as usual at the Bank, selection of Balasubramanian, who has been with Citi for about three decades, will inject fresh blood into the top echelons of the Bank.Interestingly, the market appears to favour Bharucha for the top job at HDFC Bank, given his long tenure and deep experience within the institution. Bharucha has been on the board of the Bank since 2014. As per regulations, the post of the MD & CEO or WTD cannot be held by the same incumbent for more than 15 years. Thereafter, the individual will be eligible for re-appointment as MD & CEO or WTD in the same bank, if considered necessary and desirable by the board, after a minimum gap of three years, subject to meeting other conditions.Market players say the Bank would have forwarded the aforementioned names to the RBI for its approval. India’s largest private sector bank so far has seen only two chiefs: Aditya Puri (1994-2020) and Sashidhar Jagdishan (2020 till date).The Bank’s Board on September 12 approved the “Appointment of the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, by submitting the names of two candidates in order of preference and the remuneration proposed to be paid to them, for a period of three years, subject to approval of RBI.”The Board’s move to find a replacement for Jagdishan follows his late August decision to not seek his re-appointment as the MD & CEO of the Bank.The Bank also seems to be building a leadership moat, by creating the of an additional position of a Whole-Time Director (WTD). With this, the Bank will have four WTDs, including the MD & CEO. This move will create a larger pipeline for succession planning.Published on September 13, 2026
