SynopsisHDFC Bank has nominated Kaizad Bharucha and an external candidate for the top leadership role. The bank seeks a six-month tenure rule relaxation for Bharucha to complete a full term. Anup Bagchi and K Balasubramanian were strong external contenders for the position. Bharucha offers continuity during the bank's ongoing integration and leadership transition. The external candidate was chosen for experience handling significant business scale and complexity.AgenciesMumbai: HDFC Bank has submitted the names of deputy managing director Kaizad Bharucha and one external candidate to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for its top job, with the external choice made from a final set that included ICICI Prudential Life CEO Anup Bagchi and Citi India CEO K Balasubramanian, people familiar with the process said.The identity of the external candidate ultimately submitted to the regulator could not be independently ascertained.The lender has also sought a relaxation of about six months from the central bank's tenure rules that would allow Bharucha, if selected, to complete a full three-year term as managing director and chief executive, the people said. If given a full term, Bharucha would otherwise have hit the regulator-mandated ceiling on directorial tenure before his corner-room stint were to end.HDFC Bank's search had started with a much wider field. The lender received more than 150 applications, of which around 50 were shortlisted and fewer than 10 bankers were eventually interviewed, people cited above said.In the final stages of the external search, Bagchi and Balasubramanian emerged as the strongest contenders, they said."Bharucha remains the strongest internal candidate and the bank has sought a limited regulatory dispensation that would allow him to complete a full three-year term," a person familiar with the process said. "For the external option, the board was looking for someone who had handled businesses of significant scale and complexity, given the size of HDFC Bank's balance sheet and franchise."HDFC Bank did not respond to queries seeking comment.Also Read | HDFC Bank submits two names to RBI for CEO post, strengthens board-level leadershipBharucha offers continuity at a time when the lender is navigating a leadership transition and the continuing integration of the erstwhile HDFC Ltd business. He has been with HDFC Bank since 1995 and joined its board as an executive director in June 2014. He currently oversees a large part of the bank's asset franchise, including retail assets, mortgages, corporate banking, emerging corporates, business banking and rural lending.His candidature, however, runs up against RBI rules that cap the continuous tenure of a managing director, CEO or whole-time director at a private bank at 15 years. Bharucha would reach that ceiling in June 2029.Bagchi, 55, brings broad experience across both retail and wholesale financial services after more than three decades with the ICICI Group. During his career, he has handled retail banking, MSME, rural banking, corporate banking, treasury and markets, credit policy, digital channels and data analytics. He has also headed ICICI Securities and, since 2023, has led ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. His experience spans lending, liabilities, capital markets and insurance - a breadth that few senior bankers in the system possess and one that is particularly relevant given the scale and complexity of HDFC Bank.Balasubramanian brings a more corporate and institutional banking-heavy profile, along with familiarity with HDFC Bank itself where he spent a brief period in 2016-17. He headed corporate banking and the government business, giving him familiarity with the lender's internal culture and senior management. As Citi India CEO and head of banking for the Indian subcontinent, he oversees the US lender's operations across the region.Read More News on...moreless